


I Want To Breathe You In

by simplecharli



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Caring Ashton, Eventual Smut, Evil Ashton, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, Innocent Luke, Kidnapping, M/M, Stockholm Syndrome, Threats of Violence, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2018-08-10 09:00:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 32
Words: 38,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7838659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplecharli/pseuds/simplecharli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashton wants Luke. Luke has no idea Ashton exists. Ashton takes extreme measures to make Luke his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it!!!

Ashton looked up from his book. He wasn’t reading it. It was just a cover. The real reason he was sitting here was standing across the park. He had the perfect view from where he was. 

He watched the boy from across the park with his friends. He was tall, lean with just some slight muscle and golden blond hair that swept over his forehead. Occasionally the blond hair poked out from under a beanie, other times he had it styled upwards in a quiff but mostly it just looked like he hadn’t brushed it.

Ashton knew he had blue eyes, the colour of the sky on a bright clear day, but he couldn’t see them today. He frowned. The boy had hidden them behind sunglasses today. 

Ashton spent most of his afternoons here, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy. He’d literally ran into the boy a few weeks back. He smiled at the memory.

(“Watch out” a voice tore Ashton from his thoughts “Look out”

Ashton looked up just in time to find himself collide with another body.

“Oh my god” the voice said “I’m so sorry, so sorry”

“It’s okay” Ashton said, as he picked himself up and dusted himself off “Nobody got hurt….”

Ashton trailed off, as he lifted his head to come face to face with the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. The boy smiled wide.

“That’s good” he said “I suck at football”

“I’m sure you’re doing fine” Ashton replied while thinking there was something he could suck. He shook the thoughts from his head and focused on the boy again, only to find the boy had already turned on heels and trotted off back to his friends. Leaving Ashton alone on the path and thinking really unholy thoughts about a boy that couldn’t be older than sixteen)

Ashton let himself come back to the present. It was such a short moment in time and Ashton was pretty sure that the boy, whose name he still didn’t know, hadn’t given it a second thought but Ashton thought about it everyday.

That’s why he came to this park. He’d discovered that the boy spent most of his afternoons playing some sort of sport on the opposite side of the park, so Ashton spent most of his afternoons watching the boy. He really wanted to know his name.

“Hey” a voice in the distance called “We should call it a day”

Ashton listened intently as he could while still pretending to read his book. It was one of the boy’s friends that had spoken up.

“Yeah, okay” the boy answered

“Good game, lads” another of his friends said “Back tomorrow?”

“No, I can’t tomorrow” the boy said. Ashton frowned “I have a date”

“Oh yeah, that’s right” the first friend piped up “What’s his name again?”

“Jesse” the boy answered, smiling. Ashton scowled, sending a glare in the boys’ direction, but it turned into a fond look when he noticed that the boy had taken his sunglasses off and he saw those brilliant blue eyes he had come to love.

“Oh yeah” said his friend “Well, have fun. See you at school then. Later”

“Yeah, Luke” said his other friend “You need a lift?”

“Nah mate thanks” Luke said “I’m just going to walk”  
Ashton smiled to himself. He had just learned his name. Luke. He liked that name, it suited the boy. The name rolled off his tongue as he said it softly to himself. He wondered what Luke would sound like, saying Ashton’s name. He shook the thoughts from his head and lifted his head, only to find that Luke was headed in his direction. This was a chance for Ashton to make a move. He stood up from the bench and tossed the book onto it as he moved in the general direction towards Luke. He took his phone from his pocket and pretended to be engrossed in it. 

He bumped slightly into Luke as they passed in each other, Ashton dropped his phone. The screen cracking as it hit the concrete path.

“Oh no” said Luke, crouching down to pick up the broken phone “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to”

Truth was, Ashton didn’t give a flying fuck about his phone. He could always buy a new one. What he cared about was, this was the closest he’d been to Luke in weeks and he had butterflies in his stomach. He could barely contain how excited he was.

“That’s okay” Ashton cleared his throat “It’s an old phone. No real harm done”

“But it’s broken” Luke squeaked, seemingly almost in tears at the fact that he broken Ashton’s phone “I don’t have any money to pay for it”

“Hey, it’s okay” Ashton said, placing a hand on Luke’s arm “No need. Just the excuse I need to get a new one. You did me a favour”

“Really?” Luke questioned, one eye on Ashton, one eye on Ashton’s hand “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, trust me, I’m sure” Ashton said “I’m Ashton”, holding his hand out for Luke to shake

“Ummm Luke” he said, warily eyeing Ashton’s hand. Quickly looking him up and down, Luke decided he wasn’t going to hurt him and shook his hand.

“Well, Luke” Ashton said, smiling “Nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you too” Luke replied “Still sorry about your phone”

“Again, don’t worry about it” Ashton said “I’ll see you around”

“Yeah, I guess” Luke said

Ashton gave him a small wave and turned on his heels, walking away. ‘He was nice’, Luke thought as he turned around and began his walk home.

Ashton half hid behind a nearby tree and watched Luke walked away. Now he had another memory to keep him going until he could put his plan into action. Luke had no idea what was in store for him. Ashton watched until Luke was out of sight, turned around and walked to his car.

He had wanted to take Luke the first day he saw him, but there was too many people around that day. Now, he wanted Luke to trust him a little before he took him. Truth was, Ashton would never hurt him but he wanted the beautiful boy for himself and he was willing to do whatever that took to make it happen.

He was one step closer, but it would have to wait for another time. He would wait forever if he had to. Ashton smiled to himself as he thought about his plan. 

Just a few more days…….


	2. The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short but I hope you like it

Ashton stared at the words on the page, his mind was completely elsewhere. As usual, he was thinking about Luke. He could picture the blond hair and blue eyes in his sleep, he often actually did. He was so absorbed in his mind; he didn’t even notice the tall boy casually walking towards him.

“Is it a good book?” a voice interrupted Ashton from his thoughts and made him jump a little.

“I’m sorry” Ashton said, as he looked up.

Standing in front of him was none other than the object of his affection and all his thoughts. Luke. Ashton wasn’t expecting him to come to the park today but he smiled wide at the blond.

“I asked you if it’s a good book. Is it?” Luke asked again

“Oh, don’t know, haven’t really been paying attention to it” Ashton replied “Busy thinking”

Luke nodded at him. Luke sat down on the bench next to him and he tensed up. He definitely wasn’t expecting that. He twisted his upper body so that he was sort of facing the boy.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, rather bluntly

“Oh, I’m sorry” Luke stumbled over his words and moved to stand up “I didn’t mean to invade your space”

“Oh no, sorry” Ashton backtracked “I didn’t mean it like that. That was rude. Please stay”

“Oh okay” Luke muttered “Are you sure?”

“Yes” Ashton said, confidently “I want you to stay”

Luke shyly smiled at him, placing his hands in his lap and started to pick at the hem of his shirt. Ashton watched him silently out of the corner of his eye. He was beautiful to Ashton, lost in his thoughts and Ashton swore he could get lost in his eyes.

“Have you ever been stood up?” Luke asked suddenly

“Yeah, more times than I care to admit to” Ashton replied, eager to gain his trust “Is that’s what happened to you?”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to be on a date right now but instead I’m telling a complete stranger how much I suck” Luke said, mumbling “I waited for over an hour”

“That’s not right” Ashton replied “I’m sorry that happened to you. She’s not worth it”

“Oh, it was a boy” Luke blushed 

Ashton knew that, of course he knew that. But hearing Luke say it made his insides start some sort of party, with fireworks and everything. He also decided that he loved the way his cheeks burned red when he blushed and made a mental note to get him to do that more often.

“Oh, well then, he’s not worth it” Ashton said “Nobody it worth your time if they can’t give you theirs”

“Thanks, I guess” Luke mumbled, still picking at the hem of his shirt “Sorry; I didn’t mean to burden you with teenage drama”

“No, its okay” Ashton said “Sometimes, another person’s observation is needed”

“Well, thanks again” Luke smiled “You made me feel a little better”

“You are welcome” Ashton replied

“I should…..” Luke started but he was interrupted by someone calling his name.

One of the boy’s friends from yesterday was shouting his name and running towards them. Luke stood up and turned his attention to his friend.

“Mikey, what?” he said, when his friend was close enough to hear him.

Michael looked over Luke’s shoulder and raised his eyebrows at Ashton. Ashton just smiled back, not wanting to look suspicious.

“I just ran into what’s his name” Michael said, a little out of breath “Jesse. He said you weren’t there”

“Neither was he” Luke said “I waited for him for over an hour”

“Well, he’s there now” Michael said “He said he’d wait for you”

“Well, I’m not going back” Luke said “I’m not giving my time to someone who couldn’t give me theirs”

Ashton smiled to himself, almost giggling. His actions caused Michael to give him another look over Luke’s shoulder.

“Who’s this?” Michael asked, pointing at Ashton

“This is…..” Luke started “Ummm Ashton, right?”

“Yeah, I’m Ashton” he replied.

Ashton stood up and moved to stand shoulder to shoulder next to Luke and stuck his hand out for Michael to shake. Michael eyed him warily. Just what Ashton didn’t need.

“Michael” he said, as he shook his hand “How long have you known Luke?”

“Oh about twenty minutes” Ashton replied happily  
“Oh, okay, well Luke if you’re not going to meet Jesse, did you want to come to mine?” Michael asked.

“Yeah sure” Luke replied. He turned to Ashton “I’m going to go. Thanks for the advice”

“Anytime, Luke” Ashton said.

Ashton left Luke and Michael standing there as he returned to his seat. Michael may have tried to whisper but Ashton heard him clearly ‘he’s a bit old’ to which Luke’s response was a slap on his arm. Luke turned and waved to Ashton and then Michael dragged him away.

Ashton watched intently as Michael dragged Luke away. He didn’t need this. Michael seemed a little over protective of the blond and he was definitely not part of Ashton’s plan. Now that he’d kind of gained Luke’s trust, taking him would be easier. His plan was already working and tomorrow he would put it into action.

He couldn’t wait….


	3. Taken

Ashton was sitting on the park bench again, his eyes trained on the three boys across from him, playing their game of football. Well, just one of the boys in particular. Luke.  
Luke caught his eye and gave him a small wave. Ashton grinned widely and waved back but didn’t move from the bench. 

He heard Michael call out to Luke, who was now headed in Ashton’s direction.

Whoa, he is beautiful, he thought to himself.

“Just give me a minute” Luke shouted over his shoulder to Michael as he walked closer to Ashton. 

“Hi” he breathed out 

“Hi, Luke” Ashton replied, happily. 

Luke just stared at him, not saying anything for a few moments before Ashton spoke up.

“Did you need something?” he asked, softly

“Uh, oh no” Luke stuttered “Just wanted to say hi and I’ve done that, so I’m gonna go”

“Okay, bye Luke” Ashton shouted, as Luke had already run away from him back to his friends.

Ashton quietly watched Luke and his friends for a few more hours. He was trying not to be noticed but Michael kept looking in his direction with an unreadable expression on his features. Like he knew Ashton was watching Luke. 

The sun was slowly setting over the park, casting long shadows over the trees. Ashton was still sat in the same position, on the same bench. The first of Luke’s friends had left about an hour ago, so now it was just him and Michael. And Ashton, of course. He was putting his plan into action today and he was trying hard to contain his excitement at just the thought of having Luke to himself, let alone the reality.

He hummed quietly to himself. He was waiting fro Michael to leave because he knew that Luke would come over to him. He was about to get his chance.  
“Hey, Luke, are you sure you don’t need a ride?” Michael asked, eyeing Ashton from a distance.

“Yeah, I’m sure” Luke answered “I live just down the road and there’s still plenty of light”

Michael hesitated as Luke packed up their things and handed them to Michael. 

“Go on, your mum’s gonna go mental if you’re late again” Luke said “I’ll text you went I get ‘home, if it’ll make you feel better”

“Yeah, please, it would” Michael said, eyes still on Ashton “I’ll see you at school and don’t forget to text me, Hemmings”

“Yes sir” Luke said, mock saluting him. 

Michael all but ran to his car because Luke was right, his mother would go mental if he was late again. So, he ignored the feeling in his stomach and drove away from the park and away from Luke. Luke waved him off, with a smile.

Luke turned on his heels and sauntered over to where Ashton was still sitting on the bench. 

“Hey again” Luke said, shyly 

“Hey, how was the game?” Ashton asked

“Good. I still suck, though” Luke replied, sitting down next to him.

Ashton suppressed the growl he wanted to let out when Luke touched his arm as he sat down.

“It’s getting late” Ashton said, casually “You should probably get home”

“Yeah” Luke said, looking at his watch “You’re probably right. It was nice seeing you again”

“You too” Ashton said

Luke stood up before Ashton spoke again.  
“Hey Luke, did you want a ride home?” he asked, quietly hoping he didn’t sound as excited as he felt.

“Umm yeah that’d be cool” Luke replied “If you don’t mind”

“Wouldn’t have offered, if I minded” Ashton said.

No, definitely do not mind. Do not mind one bit, he thought to himself. This was starting to get ridiculous at how easy this was starting to be. 

Ashton stood up, next to Luke, he was still slightly taller and he had more muscle on him, so Ashton knew he could take him if there was a struggle. He smirked to himself before facing Luke and pointing over his shoulder to the opposite side of the park.

“That’s my car over there” Ashton told him “You ready?”

“Yep, for sure” he replied, falling into step beside Ashton as they walked over to his car.

Ashton’s mind was a jumble of ‘he’s walking with me’, ‘this is way too easy’ and ‘he’s going to be all mine soon’. He was still trying hard to contain his excitement and from the small looks, Luke was shooting him every now and then, he may not have been doing a very good job of hiding it. 

He unlocked the car and Luke slid into the passenger seat, pulling his seatbelt on. Ashton opened the back doors and pulled a water bottle out of his bag. He hoped in the driver’s seat and handed the bottle to Luke.

“Have a drink” he said “You must be thirsty after all that running around”

“Thanks, I kinda am” Luke said, taking the bottle and sipping from it “That hit the spot”

Ashton smiled to himself. Luke trusted way too easily and his plan was working smoother than he thought it would. He thought Luke would at least be a little sceptical of a stranger handing him drink but without even a hint of hesitation, Luke drank it.

Ashton turned his car on and pulled out of the parking lot. After a few moments of silence, he noticed, Luke shake his head.

“Whoa, that game left me a little more tired than I thought” he giggled.

“Did it?” Ashton asked, smirking

Luke shook his head again, trying to keep his eyes open. His body started to feel heavy and he felt like he couldn’t move. He shook his head for a third time in as many minutes. He cleared his throat and breathed in deeply. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he felt a hand on his leg. He could vaguely make out that Ashton was talking to him but couldn’t grasp what he was saying.

“Luke, its okay” Ashton said “I’ve got you”

“What?” Luke asked “What the hell is going on?”

“Luke, baby” Ashton said, calmly “It’s okay, just relax. I’ve got you”  
Luke pulled as far away as he could from Ashton before the drugs took a complete hold over him. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was Ashton smiling widely at him.

Ashton watched as Luke dropped the spiked water bottle and fell to sleep, no longer able to keep his eyes open. He smiled to himself. Luke was finally his and no one was going to take him away from him.

Ashton stared ahead, catching glimpses of the beautiful sleeping boy beside him, as he drove into the darkening night.

He finally had Luke.


	4. Day One

Luke blinked his eyes open three times before he adjusted to the light. His head felt heavy and foggy. He sat up slowly in the bed, stretching his limbs carefully. He looked down at his clothes and noticed he was still wearing his school uniform. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the palm of his hands. He looked cautiously around the room, something didn’t feel right.

He picked it straight away, this wasn’t his room. He blinked slowly taking in his surroundings. This was definitely not his room.  
He pulled himself off the bed, feet landing on the wood floor. 

He slowly approached the dresser that stood against the wall and pulled open the top drawer like he was expecting something to jump out and attack him. Nothing jumped out, just filled with underwear and socks. He pulled open the second drawer, more clothes. So far, nothing scary.

He approached the walk in closet and pulled open the door quickly and jumped to the side as if he was expecting someone to yell ‘surprise’ at him. Nope. Luke was seriously starting to freak out; he was silently thinking to himself how he made this far without screaming. Hangers of band shirts, hoodies and skinny jeans were hung up inside. There must’ve been dozens of them. Luke thumbed the shirts nervously. He would wear some of this stuff. 

He cast his eyes over the room once more and tried hard to remember how he got here. The last thing he remembers is…..Ashton. His eyes widened at the realisation that Ashton must have brought him here. He had no idea what to do with that information. So, he walked to the door and attempted to open it. He twisted the handle and nothing. He couldn’t open it so he banged on the door and yelled ‘let me out of here’  
Luke gave up after about ten minutes of banging and yelling and sat on the edge of the bed. What the actual fuck is going on?

The handle of the bedroom door jiggled and Luke freaked out. So, he did the only thing he could possibly think of at that terrifying moment, he raced towards the closet and shut himself in.

He sat on the floor, knees to his chest, holding the door shut as hard as he could. If he was thinking properly, he’d probably laugh at the fact he was sitting in a closet. He hasn’t been in the metaphorical closet for years. 

He heard footsteps just outside the door.

“Luke” a voice called “Why are you in there?”

He knew that voice, it was Ashton’s. What!?

“Luke” he called, jiggling the handle “You can come out”

He had no idea what to do, so he just continued to sit there, not moving, barely breathing.

“Luke, I’m not going to hurt you” Ashton called, softly

Luke thought he sounded sincere, so he let go of the handle and the door swung open because Ashton was still trying to get the door open. Ashton stumbled back a bit and giggled.

“Luke, you don’t have to be scared” Ashton said, looking down at the blond on the floor “Why don’t you come out of there?”

Luke internally weighed his options. He didn’t really have any once he thought about it.

“Okay” he said, practically a whisper

Ashton held out his hand for Luke to take, which he did and pulled him off the floor. Luke stood awkwardly in the open doorway of the closet. Ashton was just smiling at him.  
“Where am I?” he asked after a moment

“You’re home” Ashton replied, still smiling

“This is not my home” Luke said

“It is now” Ashton shrugged, walking away from Luke and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What are you talking about?” he asked

“You are mine now, you live here with me” Ashton said, like that explained everything “This is our home. This is your room. Do you like it?”

“No” Luke said, raising his voice slightly “This isn’t my room. I want to go home”

Ashton stared at Luke with an unreadable expression on his face but then smiled widely.

“You are home, baby” Ashton said

“Are you fucking crazy?” Luke shouted “I want to go home”

“You are home” Ashton repeated

Luke shook his head and in a split second decision, he bolted for the door. He pulled the handle and nothing, the door wouldn’t budge. He pulled again and again. He gave up and turned around, Ashton still sitting on the bed, smiling.

“I want to go home” Luke said, again

“You are home” Ashton repeated again “This is your room and this is where you’ll stay until you learn to obey the rules”

“What rules?” Luke asked

“You’ll figure them out” Ashton smirked “Where’s the fun if I tell you them? You have to learn them”

“You are fucking insane” Luke shouted  
Before he knew what was happening, Ashton was practically on top of him, one hand gripping his throat, the other wound tightly around his wrist, pining him to the door.

“I’m not crazy” Ashton sneered “First rule, no swearing. I don’t want to hurt you, Luke. I love you. But don’t be so stupid as to think I’ll let you get away with things”

Ashton twisted his arm behind his back, bending his fingers back. Luke screamed in pain. Ashton pulled him off the door and pushed him onto the bed, still holding onto his fingers. Luke still screaming, Ashton not even flinching. 

“Remember, no swearing” Ashton said, letting go of Luke’s fingers. “I won’t tell you again”

Luke cradled his hand to his chest, tears spilling from his eyes. His hand hurt really bad, Ashton hurt him but was acting like he had done nothing. This was not good. ‘Fucking understatement of the year, Luke’

“Why are you doing this?” Luke asked, stuttering through the question.

Ashton looked at Luke. 

“I told you, this is your home” Ashton said

“But why are you keeping me here?” Luke asked, still teary  
“Luke, I told you that too” Ashton said “Do I have to teach you a lesson in listening?”

Luke went wide eyed and scrambled up the bed backwards until his back hit the headboard, shaking his head furiously, hand still cradled to his chest.

“No”

“Luke, I love you and soon you’ll love me too” Ashton said, smiling “We can live together here, happily and everything will be alright, okay, baby?”

Luke stared at Ashton, who was still smiling widely and clearly not caring that Luke was still in pain. Luke gulped and cleared his throat,

“Okay” he spoke, softly, whispering.

“Good” Ashton smiled wider, if that was possible and clapped his hand together. “I’ll be back later. You just get acquainted with you room, okay, baby?”

“Okay” Luke replied, voice still barely above a whisper.

Ashton winked at Luke, turned on his heels and left the room, leaving Luke on the bed, red faced and in pain. He stayed sitting there, thinking about what the hell he had gotten himself into.

He was fucking trapped.


	5. The Other Side Of Things

Michael practically ran to his room after he’d finished his dinner. He picked up his phone from his desk where he left it. Still no message from Luke, so he typed another text, his third for the afternoon, and pressed send. No reply.

He pulled up Luke’s name on his phone and pressed the call button. He held his breath as he waited for Luke to answer. This was so unlike him.  
‘Hi, you’ve reached Luke. I can’t take your call right now but feel free to leave a message, call back or whatever you want’

Michael ended the call, not leaving a message and throwing his phone on his bed. ‘Where are you, Luke?’ he grumbled to himself. He should have insisted on taking Luke home. That feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t going away.

His phone suddenly rang and he dived for it.

“Hello, Luke? Is that you?” he asked, quickly  
“Michael, no it’s Liz” she said “So Luke’s not with you, then?”  
“No, he’s not” Michael replied “He should have been home by now”  
“When did he leave the park?” she asked  
“Minutes after me” Michael said “Mrs Hemmings, I think you should call the police”  
“Don’t be dramatic, Michael” she replied “Maybe he’s with Calum”  
“No, Calum left before I did. He was going to visit his grandparents” Michael insisted “Luke was the last to leave”  
“Where is he?” she asked  
“Call the police” he repeated “I’ll be right there”  
“Okay”

Michael ended the call and raced outside to his car, yelling out to his parents that he was going to Luke’s. No need to worry them as well, just yet.

Twenty minutes later, Michael arrived at the Hemmings house. There was a police car parked in the driveway. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He got out of his car and knocked on the front door. Luke’s brother, Jack answered the door.

“He’s not here, Michael” Jack said, looking a little worried  
“I know” he replied “Your mum called me. I may have some information about Luke”  
“Do you know where he is?” Jack asked  
“No, but I think I know what may have happened” he said.

Jack stood aside and let Michael into the house.

Michael walked into the Hemmings’ living room, Jack following closely behind him. Two police officers sat on the sofa, their attention on the two people opposite them. A solemn looking Mr and Mrs Hemmings sat huddled close together as questions were asked.

“Are you sure he just hasn’t run away?” one of the officers asked “Call one of his friends, maybe?”  
“He wouldn’t do that” Mr Hemmings, raising his voice a little. He was clearly frustrated with the situation “And we’ve called all his friends. No one know where he is”  
“I’m sorry, but we do have to ask these questions” the officer said  
“You’ve asked that question three times now” Mr Hemmings said “Look, Luke is a good kid, he knows he has to be home for dinner and if he’s not, he knows to call one of us. He wouldn’t just not show up unless something’s happened”

Mrs Hemmings let out a noise at Mr Hemmings words. Looking away from the officers, she suddenly noticed Michael standing in the room. She stood up, walked over to him and engulfed him a hug. Michael just standing there, not knowing what to do. 

“Why? Michael, why did you tell us to call the police?” she asked, hands gripping his shoulders.  
“Because I think he may have been taken” Michael said, emotionless. 

He had to make sure the police would take him seriously. He was just a teenager after all. Who would believe him? Mrs Hemmings let her arms drop to her sides, Mr Hemmings now standing at her side as they both stared at Michael.

“What do you mean?” she asked, a little frantically “What do you mean, taken? Taken, by who?”

“Umm there was this guy at the park who seemed a little too interested in Luke” he said, audibly gulping

“And you left him alone with this guy?” she asked  
“Luke said he was coming home” Michael said, quickly “I had no reason to believe he wouldn’t come home”  
“But you now believe that this guy is responsible for whatever has happened to Luke?” Mr Hemmings asked  
“Yes” Michael said, softly

The Hemmings’ stared at Michael again. He was starting to feel uncomfortable now; he knew that they may blame him for leaving Luke alone. He blames himself for leaving Luke alone instead of insisting he take him home.

“Then, why would you leave him alone with this guy?” Mr Hemmings asked, a slight bluntness to his voice  
“Because I didn’t think” Michael answered, looking at his feet.

The two officers, who had watched the previous exchange in silence, approached Michael, slowly.  
“That’s quite an accusation to make” one of them said “Are you sure?”  
“Yes” Michael nodded  
“Well, do you know anything we can use to find him?” he asked  
“He said his name was Ashton” Michael said “Luke met him a few days ago, they’ve talked a bit, I think, but I swear if he took Luke, it was against Luke’s will”  
“You said, Luke’s talked to him?” the second officer asked   
“Yes” replied Michael “But he gave me a bad vibe but Luke didn’t believe me”  
“Okay, can you tell us what he looked like?” the first one asked  
“He was a little taller than me; he had muscle and dark blonde hair, slightly curly” Michael said “That’s all I remember about him”  
“That’s it” Mrs Hemmings said, shocked “You think this guy took my son but you can’t remember anything useful about him”

Mr Hemmings placed his hands on Mrs Hemmings’ shoulders and tried to calm her down. Michael could hear him whisper ‘this is not Michael’s fault, love’ and Michael felt like a loser. Mrs Hemmings was right. This guy could have possibly taken his best friend and he remembered nothing.

“I’m sorry” he mumbled

“That’s all you remember?” the first officer asked “Are you sure?”  
“Yes” Michael said, turning his attention back to the officers standing in front of him.  
“Okay”

The officers turned to the Hemmings’ and told them they would do everything they could to find Luke. Mrs Hemmings let out a sob at their words. The officers left without another word.

“Michael, I think you should go home, now” Mr Hemmings said, quietly “Thanks for your help”

Michael nodded and turned around and walked out his best friend’s house mumbling a ‘sorry’ under his breath.

He sat outside in his car, just staring in the distance. Why? Why didn’t he take Luke home? His best friend was missing and he did nothing to prevent it. A heavy feeling settled in his chest, he was wracked with guilt. This was his fault. His phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Hello” he answered, not looking at it  
“Mikey” a voice spoke “What’s going on?”

It was Calum. He sighed heavily and tried to control his breathing and his tears as he spoke

“Calum, Luke’s missing”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not too sure about this but I wanted to give a small insight as to what Luke's family and friends are going through. I'll include another chapter about that later in the fic.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	6. Day Two

Luke opened his eyes, closed them, and slapped himself across his cheek a few times before he opened them again. Nope, not a nightmare, he was still here. 

He pushed himself off the bed, still wearing his uniform, and padded across the floor towards the dresser. He flinched as he opened the drawer, his hand still hurt from yesterday’s attack. He pulled out some clothes to change into; his uniform was starting to smell. As much as he didn’t want to wear these clothes, it made his skin crawl, wearing something Ashton had brought him, and he needed to change.

He stripped down and put the new clothes on, breathing in and out deeply. He hated it. He had just pulled the shirt over his head when he heard the door opened. He turned towards it, arms across his chest, trying to protect himself as much as possible.

“Good morning, baby” Ashton chirped, stepping into the room, carrying a tray “How did you sleep?”

Luke said nothing, choosing instead to stare down at his feet. That was a mistake.  
Within seconds, again before Luke had a chance to react, Ashton had a harsh grip on his arm and twisting hard. Luke screamed. Luke pleaded with Ashton to let go as he held his arm in the unnatural position.

“You will respond when I talk to you” Ashton said, harshly “You understand?”  
“Yes” Luke said, meekly, eyes on his twisted arm “I….I…understand”  
“Good” Ashton replied, letting go of Luke’s arm.

Luke shot backwards as soon as his arm was released, putting as much space between him and Ashton as he possibly could in a small room.

“I brought you breakfast” Ashton said, clearly unfazed “You didn’t eat at all yesterday”

Luke stared at him.

“Luke, do I need to teach you another lesson?” he asked, smiling  
“Uhhh no” Luke stuttered “I’m good”  
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I went simple” Ashton said “It’s just toast and cereal”  
“T….Th…Thank you” he stuttered in response  
“Are you going to come over?” Ashton asked “Aren’t you hungry?”  
“No…No” Luke said, shaking his head furiously at the same time his stomach growled, audibly.  
Ashton lightly laughed.

Ashton got up from off the bed and walked back over to the door, resting his back against it.

“Go on, eat” Ashton said.

Luke gingerly made his way over to the bed, eyes trained on Ashton’s every move. He sat down next to the tray of food and slowly picked up a piece of toast and brought it to his lips. He took a small bite as he watched Ashton smile at him.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me” Ashton said “I’m not here to hurt you Luke but sometimes you give me no choice”  
“So you say” Luke muttered, chewing his toast slowly.

He picked up the glass of juice with his injured arm and winced, the pain showing clearly on his face. Maybe Ashton had broken something.   
Ashton watched him, not saying a word as he opened the door and shut it behind him as he left.

Luke let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and then began stuffing his face. He was starving. He was shoving the last of the cereal in his mouth when Ashton returned to the room. 

Luke’s eyes widened as Ashton approached him, like a deer caught in headlights. He couldn’t move as Ashton reached for his injured arm. He jerked it back when he felt Ashton’s touch.

“Don’t be silly” he said “I’m not going to hurt you again. I just want to help”  
“Okay”

Luke let Ashton pull his arm gently towards him, watching his every move eagerly. Ashton took a tube from his shirt pocket, spreading the cream on his fingers before rubbing it softly over Luke’s arm. Luke sighed heavily when he felt a little relief.

“I don’t mean to hurt you, baby” Ashton said, still rubbing the cream in gently “I don’t want to hurt you but you need to learn to be good”  
“Okay” is all Luke said in response 

“Luke, look at me” Ashton said

Luke looked up from his arm and straight into Ashton’s eyes. From the look in his eyes, Luke could tell he was sorry, but this was the second time he’d hurt him in as many days. He shook his head.

“Then why are you doing this?” he asked  
“Why am I doing what?” Ashton asked, tilting his head in confusion  
“Keeping me here, when I told you I don’t want to be here” Luke said “Why?”  
“Because I love you” Ashton stated, like it was obvious.  
“I don’t love you” Luke said, bravely “I don’t even know you”  
“But you will” 

Ashton stood up, handing the cream to Luke, telling him to rub it on his arm if it hurts again.  
Luke took the tube and placed it beside him. He turned his head back to Ashton. He watched in shock as Ashton leaned into him and kissed the side of his mouth. Ashton stood back and smiled as Luke stared at him, not moving. 

Ashton turned on his heels, taking the empty tray with him and made his way to the door.

“You’re leaving me alone, again?” Luke asked, as Ashton reached for the door handle.

“Yes, Luke” Ashton replied, hand on the doorknob “I’ll be back later but I have stuff to do. I’ll see you later”

Ashton opened the door, turned around to smile again at Luke and shut the door. Luke heard the lock click before he moved his hand to his mouth and touched the spot where Ashton had kissed him. What!?

Luke stared at the door but had no idea what he was waiting for. Was he waiting for Ashton to return or was he hoping that he didn’t come back? His thoughts were confusing the hell out of him. 

He hated Ashton for kidnapping him and hurting him but he felt sparks of fond when Ashton was nice to him. ‘What the hell are you thinking, Luke?’ he mumbled to himself, Ashton was crazy.

He had no idea as to how much time had passed since Ashton left and he closed in eyes, tiredness seeping into his bones. He hadn’t really slept since being here, so he pushed himself back on the bed and lay down. As he slowly drifted to sleep, his only thought was

‘Am I ever getting out of here?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day. Hopefully updates will come regularly, life permitting.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always welcome  
> Thank you for reading


	7. Day Eight

Luke was startled awake by the feeling of someone standing over him. He opened his eyes quickly to the sight of Ashton standing over him, smiling.

“Good morning, Lukey” he grinned “Did you sleep okay last night?”  
“Morning and not really” he mumbled but still clear enough for Ashton to hear  
“I’m sorry to hear that, sweetheart” Ashton said, placing a tray in front of him “But I did bring you breakfast”  
“Thank you” Luke said as he took a piece of toast from the tray.

Luke couldn’t tell how long he’d been here, trapped in this room. He spent almost all of his time alone. The routine was the same everyday.   
Ashton would bring him breakfast, ask him how he slept and when Luke had finished eating, Ashton would leave. 

It was same routine later in the day. Luke never knew what time it was. Ashton would come into the room again, bring another tray of food, wait for Luke to finish eating and then leave again.

There were a few times that Ashton stayed a little longer but they were only to cause Luke pain.

Like the time, Luke had tried to escape and kick the door down. Ashton had brought his dinner that night and saw the marks on the back of the door and twisted Luke’s ankle so hard that he couldn’t walk on it for ages. He hadn’t tried to kick the down again.

Or the time, Luke had questioned Ashton again over why he was keeping him here and what he was going to do to him. Ashton had responded by slapping him hard across the cheek, leaving a bruise that was only just starting to fade. He hadn’t questioned Ashton again.

Or the time, Luke refused to eat anything, Ashton had forced food down his throat causing him to almost choke but throw it up anyway. Ashton had just walked away. He hadn’t refused food again.

Luke could feel Ashton staring at him while he was eating. He looked up at him.

“Am I doing something wrong?” he asked  
“No, baby” Ashton giggled “I was just thinking you’ve been really good the last few days, maybe you deserve a reward”

Luke didn’t respond. He’d already learnt what Ashton wanted him to respond to and what he wasn’t supposed to say. Luke just shot him a small smile. Ashton smiled back, so he knew he’d chosen the right move.

Ashton stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Some reward that is” he mumbled to himself.

He finished his last piece of toast and drank the juice quickly. He knew that when Ashton came back he would take the tray whether Luke had finished or not. 

Ashton walked back into the room a few moments later, carrying something in his hands. He walked over and stood in front of Luke, kneeling down. He reached up and wiped away a crumb from the corner of Luke’s mouth. While Luke was watching that action intently, Ashton reached out for his arms and snapped a bracelet on each one. Then he did the same for Luke’s ankles. Luke looked at him curiously.

“These will stop you from going where you are not supposed to” was all he said  
“Okay” Luke said “Thank you”  
“You’re welcome, baby” Ashton replied, before he grabbed the tray from Luke’s bed “I’ll see you later”

With a soft kiss to Luke’s cheek and a smile, Ashton was gone. Luke stared at the door; he hadn’t heard the lock click. He looked down at his wrists. He traced a finger over the cool metal of the bands that Ashton had snapped around them. ‘What the hell are these? Well, there’s only one way to find out’ Luke thought.

He stood up and slowly walked over to the door. He reached out for the handle and slowly pulled the handle towards him, the door opened easily. He inched it open and when he had it opened enough for him to squeeze through, that’s what he did. He looked around, eyes all over the place. Nothing. The hall was empty. He was half expecting Ashton to jump out of nowhere and attack him for leaving the room. Ashton hadn’t yet. 

He listened carefully but the only sound he could hear was his rapid breathing. He talked himself into venturing down the hall quite easily but still wary.

He walked down the hall, on high alert, hands gliding against the wall as some sort of support. He reached another door and opened it slowly. The room was dark, so he stepped in and that’s when he learnt what the bracelets were for.

A sharp and painful jolt spiralled out from his wrists and ankles, like an electric shock. His legs buckled as the pain built up. He bolted backwards to the wall opposite the door, out of the room and sunk to the floor, breathing heavily. The pain slowly subsiding. 

“That’s what he meant by stopping me from going where I’m not supposed to go” he said to himself

He stood up slowly and started to walk down the hall again. Opening door after door, sticking his arm and pulling it back out quickly like he was being burnt. So far, he wasn’t allowed to go in nay of the rooms and there was only one room left at the end of the hall. At least he was allowed out of the room, that’s progress.

He opened the door and stuck his hand in the room. Nothing, no pain. He slowly moved forward and stuck both arms in. Nothing again. He tried to slow his breathing and entered the room slowly, ready to bolt for the exit if need be.

Ashton was sitting in the room, attention on the small computer screen in front of him. He turned his head when he heard the door open and watched, smirking, as Luke completed his little dance into the room.

“So, you’ve learned what they can do?” he asked, startling Luke who had yet to see him.  
“Yes” he nodded  
“Come over here”

Luke padded over to Ashton who engulfed him in a hug, rubbing his back comfortingly and Luke did feel comforted.

“Are you okay?” Ashton asked, Luke’s head resting on his shoulder  
“I’m okay” Luke replied “What is this room?”  
“This is where I spend most of my time. It’s where I do my work to be able to pay for everything that you have” he said “You can leave the room and come into this one, whenever you want”  
“Okay, thank you” Luke nodded, still not moving from Ashton’s embrace “What’s in all the other rooms?”  
“Keep being good, Luke and you’ll find out” Ashton answered, pushing Luke gently away from him and returning to his computer screen.

Luke stood there, awkwardly, but didn’t say anything. He asked Ashton if he could sit down, Ashton nodded, so he sat down next to Ashton. They didn’t speak but Luke thought it felt nice just to have someone in the same room for a change.

Luke mumbled something that Ashton didn’t quite hear so he turned his head and looked into Luke’s blue eyes. 

“What did you say, baby?” he asked

“I’ll be good”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments (good or bad) and kudos are always welcome
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	8. Day Seventeen

Luke opened his eyes. Taking a few deep breaths in and out, he came to the realisation that he had no idea what day it was. All the days blurred into one. His sleeping was all over the place, finding it hard to sleep with no one in the room but him; he would stay awake all night. He would drift off to sleep on the chair in Ashton’s office, the older man not caring he was even there.

Since he had no idea what day it was, Luke started measuring time in regards to Ashton hurting him. He could tell you that Ashton has hurt him seven times and rewarded him twice since he’s been in this house.

His first reward was being allowed into Ashton’s office while he was there, the second being he was now allowed in the office even if Ashton wasn’t there, meaning Ashton trusted him enough not to touch the phone or computer to call for help. Luke did think about it the first time he was there without Ashton but he quickly decided against it, he had no idea what Ashton would do if he caught him calling for help.

Luke had long given up on escaping, the bracelets around his wrists and ankles made that impossible. And since he wasn’t willing to risk his life to call for help, he put all his hope in the fact that someone would rescue him. He knew Michael would have raised some sort of alarm. His best friend telling him from the beginning that Ashton seemed suspicious but Luke just ignored him. Now all Luke could think was if he had just believed Michael, he wouldn’t be here right now.

Most of the time, Ashton was either nice to him or he would plain ignore him. Luke was now almost at the point where he just craved Ashton’s company. He didn’t care if he talked to him, he was happy for the older man to just be in the room. That’s what makes this so confusing. He should be scared of Ashton. He’d hurt him pretty bad a few times. The last time still fresh in Luke’s mind, as the bruise on his eye was still present. He learnt fast that you only break the rule once. But Ashton would never tell him the rules; just punish him when he broke it. He was constantly on edge around him but craved the older man’s presence. 

He stretched his limbs and moved out of the bed, walking to the dresser, pulling out some clean clothes and getting dressed. Luke ran a hand through his hand and walked into the bathroom that joined his room. He brushed his teeth but didn’t bother with his hair.

He moved out of the room, into the hallway and into Ashton’s office. That was his morning routine now; he would have his breakfast in the office instead of on his bed. Twice, Ashton has given him pancakes instead of toast and both those times, Ashton has joined Luke for breakfast. Luke thought it was really nice to have the company while he ate. 

Ashton noticed as soon as Luke entered the room and turned away from his computer to face him, eyes raking over his body.  
“Good morning, Lukey” Ashton said, smiling “How are you this morning?”  
“Good morning, Ashton” Luke replied “I’m okay, how are you?”  
“I’m good, thank you for asking” Ashton said “Luke, I have to go away for a few days, so you’ll be on your own”

Luke stared at him, eyes wide

“You’re leaving me here alone” Luke squeaked “How am I going to survive?”  
“You’ll be fine” Ashton said “I can’t take you with me but I trust you know what will happen if you break the rules”  
“Yes” Luke nodded “What about food? I’ll starve”  
“Luke, you won’t starve” Ashton laughed “You’ve been so good lately that I am going to give you access to the kitchen”  
“Really” Luke exclaimed, he was a little excited  
“Yes” Ashton said, standing up.

Ashton walked out of the room, Luke following close behind like an excited puppy following its owner. He stood in front of the door, directly opposite Luke’s room. He pulled a small remote out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons before putting the device back in his pocket. He swung open the door and stepped aside and motioned for Luke to enter.

Luke hesitated a moment before sticking his right arm over the threshold. He could feel Ashton watching him and heard him giggle. He felt no pain, so he took a step into the room. Still felt no pain, so he walked further into the room before Ashton turned on the light behind him.

It was a small kitchen. Spinning in a slow circle, Luke looked around the room. There was even a small table with two chairs that was pushed against the corner. Luke faced Ashton and smiled.

“See, I told you I wasn’t going to let you starve” Ashton said “There’s plenty of food in the fridge and cupboard”  
“So I can come in here anytime I want?” Luke asked  
“While I’m not here, yes” replied Ashton “But don’t go overboard”

Luke launched himself at Ashton, wrapping his arms around Ashton’s shoulders, hitting him with a little bit of force that Ashton stumbled back a bit.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you” Luke repeated over and over.  
“You are welcome, baby” Ashton said, gently loosening himself out of Luke’s grip “Take a look, if there’s anything you want that’s not there, ask me and I might get it for you before I leave”  
“Really?” Luke questioned  
“Maybe, if you ask nicely enough and I feel you deserve it” Ashton replied  
“Okay”

Luke looked through the fridge and cupboards and found pretty much everything he could ever want and more. Everything was covered, snacks, things to make sandwiches with, cooked meals and so much more. He was pretty sure he drooled at the sight of all the food.

“No there’s nothing that I want” Luke said, quietly “It’s already here”  
“Good” Ashton replied “Now, come on, I still have some work to do”  
“Ashton” Luke called quietly as Ashton turned back around to face him.  
“Yes, Luke?”   
“When do you leave?” Luke asked, softly, playing with the hem of his shirt and not looking Ashton in the eye  
“Tomorrow” Ashton replied “First thing in the morning. I won’t be here when you wake up but the rules will remain the same, Luke, do you understand?”  
“Yes” Luke said, still not looking at Ashton  
“Luke, look at me” Ashton said, sternly “Do you understand?”  
“Yes, Ashton, I understand” Luke said, his eyes finally meeting Ashton’s  
“Good, now come on” Ashton smiled at him “I’ve got to get some work done before I leave”

Ashton turned on his heels and walked out, leaving Luke nothing to do but follow. 

Luke wasn’t sure how he was going to survive being on his own for a few days. Sure, he had food, clothing and a roof over his head. He had the basic needs that everybody should have. But he had grown accustomed to having the older man in the house over the last week or so. He found he was craving Ashton’s presence and would do just about anything to have him talk to him. How was he going to stop himself from going crazy in the quiet? 

He didn’t want Ashton to leave him.


	9. Day Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains descriptions of violence. Be careful.

Luke woke up and pulled himself out of bed, stretching his limbs. He walked over to the closet and dressed in some clean and nicer clothes. He walked into the attached bathroom and brushed his hair, probably for the first time since he’d been here, usually preferring to just run his hands through it. He had to look nice today, Ashton was due home today. Luke stared, wide eyed, into the mirror. ‘Did he just think that? Did he just think he had to look nice for Ashton’, Luke shook his head to move the thoughts from his head.

He moved slowly out of the room and made his way to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He looked at the clock on the microwave, 7.30am. It was the only time he knew what time it was. He popped the last two pieces of bread in the toaster and placed the vegemite and butter next to his plate and waited.  
Ashton had been gone for three days now. He was coming home sometime today, Luke had no idea when. He managed the first day without any really problems, spending the entire day in Ashton’s office reading one of the books that was in there. It was the morning of the second day that Luke felt something different. He found himself missing Ashton. The thought hit him like a truck. Ashton had drugged him, kept him against his will and hurt him badly, but Luke still missed him.

Luke missed having him in the room as he read books on the chair of his office. He missed having him smile at him when he brought him food. He missed talking to him about music or movies whenever Luke got tired of the silence. He missed Ashton. He wanted him to come home and he couldn’t wait for him t get here.

The toaster popped, telling Luke his toast was ready. He prepared his breakfast and moved to the table in the corner and sat down. Ashton was plaguing his every thought now. Once he realised that the thoughts couldn’t be shaken out of his head, he just accepted them. He told himself it was because Ashton had been his only source of human contact in god knows how long. 

He ate slowly, hoping to drag the time out, and Ashton would be home. Right now, he’d just take Ashton in the room but it would be nice if he could talk to him. He finished his breakfast and looked at the clock on the microwave, 7.45am. ‘Well, that worked’ he laughed quietly to himself. 

He stood up and washed his plate, drying it as well. Luke was not going to learn how Ashton would react if there was dirty dishes just left in his sink. He was about to put the empty bread bag in the bin when he heard the door open. 

“Morning, Luke” Ashton’s voice echoed in the quiet room “How are you?”  
“Morning, I’m good” he answered, quickly spinning around and facing him “How are you?”  
“I’m good, thanks for asking” Ashton replied, stepping into the room “How’d it go?”  
“It was okay” Luke said, quietly  
“Well, you survived. I told you that you would” Ashton giggled “I missed you”  
“I missed you too” Luke said, softly before clapping his hand over his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that.

Ashton eyed him from across the room, a slight smile on his face. He hoped that Luke would miss him and now he had said as such. He looked around the room as Luke just stood there, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, and Luke’s eyes focused on his feet. His eyes settled on the empty bread bag behind Luke, he dropped his smile.

“Luke, did you eat all the bread?” Ashton asked, sternly

Luke looked from Ashton to the empty bread bag, eyes widening.

“Umm, y…y...yes” he stuttered “I…I…I was just about to put the bag in the bin”  
“You ate all the bread” Ashton said “What if I wanted some for breakfast? Did you think about that?”  
“No” Luke whispered  
“No, of course you didn’t” Ashton said, voice rising “I work hard to give you everything you need and you don’t even give me a second thought”  
“I’m sorry” Luke said, quietly “I can make you something else”  
“No” Ashton said

Luke stood still, not moving a muscle as Ashton stared him down. In one swift and sudden move, Ashton was right in front of him, Luke’s breathing stopped. He held his breath, staring at Ashton’s shoulders, not daring to move his head up to look in Ashton’s eyes. 

“Luke, look at me”

Luke slowly raised his head and made eye contact with Ashton, who was smiling. Luke slowly found himself smiling before he could stop himself. Ashton’s smile dropped and before Luke could move or react in any way, Ashton’s hands were gripping the hair on Luke’s head tightly and pulling. Luke yelped. Ashton just pulled harder, dragging Luke off his feet by his hair and across the kitchen floor. Luke’s legs kicking out involuntarily as he was dragged screaming out of the kitchen and towards his room. Luke tried to get a grip on Ashton’s wrists to pry him off him but he couldn’t. He tried planting his feet on the floor to stand himself up but he couldn’t do that either. He was basically left flailing around while Ashton pulled him down the hall by his hair. By the time, Ashton reached Luke’s bedroom door, Luke was sure he had no hair left. His head was pounding and hot tears wet his cheeks. 

Ashton hadn’t let go yet, his hands still tightly wound in Luke’s hair, as he opened the door and practically threw Luke in the room. As soon as Ashton had let go, Luke scrambled to his knees and begged Ashton for forgiveness.

“I’m so so sorry” Luke pleaded “I won’t do it again. Please, I’ve learnt my lesson”

Ashton said nothing as he approached Luke. Luke didn’t move, sobs and ‘please forgive me’ falling, almost incoherently from his mouth. Ashton gripped Luke’s hair again and pulled his head back with such force, Luke swore he heard something crack.

“Have you?” Ashton asked  
“Yes, yes, yes” Luke pleaded “I have learnt my lesson”  
“I don’t think you have” Ashton said, menacingly   
“I have” Luke said “I promise you I have”

Ashton let go of Luke’s hair and pulled him up by his arms and threw him on the bed. He crowded over Luke’s body, dwarfing him. Luke gulped loudly. Ashton smiled widely and placed a kiss at the end of Luke’s nose and then his mouth. Luke’s eyes went wide as saucers at Ashton’s actions. 

Ashton climbed off the bed and walked over to the door.

“You will learn to appreciate what I do for you, Luke” he said, softly “Do you understand?”  
“Yes, I understand”  
“Good” Ashton said “You will stay in here until you do”  
Luke nodded, still shocked and crying

Ashton smiled again and shut the door behind him. Luke heard the lock click. He was trapped in here again.   
Luke scrambled up the bed, until his back hit the headboard, hands clutching his aching head. His tears had dried on his hot and red cheeks. He had no idea what the hell just happened. He thought Ashton would have been happy to see him after three days just like Luke was happy to see him. It didn’t work out that way, now he was in his room, alone, again and he hated it. His mind still wrapping around Ashton dragging him through the house by his hair and then kissing him.

Ashton kissed him. What the fuck?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)


	10. Day Twenty One

Luke was curled into a ball on his bed. The room so silent, all he could hear was his own breathing and the hurricane of thoughts swirling around his still aching head. He had no idea how much time had passed since Ashton had dragged him in here by his hair, thrown him around like he was some kind of rag doll, kissed him and left him alone.

Luke’s stomach growled at that moment, so it must have been a while since Ashton left him here, probably hours or even a day. It still felt like it had just happened, the occurrence still fresh in his mind. He still couldn’t make sense of it. Ashton had smiled, told him that he missed him and then was so violent towards him in a matter of seconds, Luke was still reeling.

Or maybe it was the fact that Ashton had kissed him that was leaving him reeling. He’s not stupid; he knew why Ashton had taken him. He wanted Luke to love him, to be his. But it’d been what he could only say was weeks and apart from the odd small affectionate gesture, Ashton had never made any sort of move. And why did he make such a move after being so violent? He partly believed Ashton didn’t want to hurt him, partly believed he got such a thrill from it that he would never stop finding ways to hurt Luke. ‘It was bread for fuck’s sake; go buy some more bread, not that fucking hard’. 

Luke breathed deeply in; hoping that the anger he was feeling would go away. He didn’t want to be angry at Ashton but sometimes he made it impossible to actually even think about liking the guy. Sure, he craved Ashton’s attention but he was pretty sure that was because he hated being alone but he hated how Ashton would treat him like he was nothing. He was something.

He was so lost in his thoughts, the only thing that was keeping him from going completely crazy, that he didn’t hear the door open. He was facing away from the door, so he didn’t see Ashton walk into the room, nor did he hear him. His only clue that there was someone else in the room with him was when he felt the bed dip next to him, shuffling him around a bit.

Ashton sat on the bed, next to Luke and sighed. He hated doing that to Luke but he had to learn these lessons. Luke would have to learn these lessons in order to be a good boy for Ashton. That was all part of the deal and Ashton saw nothing wrong with it. He reached out a hand and placed it on Luke’s thigh, Luke physically flinched at the touch and moved away, letting Ashton’s hand drop to the bed.

“Luke, don’t be angry” Ashton said, quietly “I never mean to hurt you”

Luke saw red. He wasn’t concerned about the consequences he would no doubt receive, when he recoiled at Ashton’s words. He pulled himself as far away from Ashton as he could get while still staying on the bed, sitting himself up and facing Ashton, fists curled at his sides. He knew in his head, he would never be able to take Ashton but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try, Luke was stubborn like that. 

“Didn’t mean to hurt me?” Luke questioned, eyes glaring at Ashton “But you did, and you knew you would”  
“Luke….” Ashton started but he was cut off  
“Why? You tell me that you love me but then you go and drag me through the house by my hair” Luke spat “That’s not love, Ashton. It fucking hurt”  
“Luke, I don’t mean too” Ashton said “And don’t swear”  
“You don’t get to tell me what to do today” Luke spat again, anger boiling in his blood “I don’t care about the rules today, you fucking hurt me and you haven’t even said you’re sorry. Because you’re not sorry”  
“Baby, you’re not listening to me either” Ashton spoke sternly   
“Don’t call me that” Luke said “I’m not your baby and if you keep treating me like this, I never will be”

Luke turned away from Ashton, tears starting to fall and he hated that. He didn’t want to cry but he was so damn angry. He knew he would pay for his outburst at some stage, probably when he least expected it. He was starting to realise that was the way Ashton worked, just when Luke would think he was starting to see the compassion in Ashton, he would lash out.

Ashton drew a deep breath in, holding his tongue at first but when it become clear, Luke wasn’t going to settle down, he lashed out.

“Luke, you will not talk to me like that” he said, slight raise to his voice “I just wanted you to appreciate the things I do for you, maybe think about me just once instead of being so damn selfish and playing victim”  
Luke scoffed. He lifted himself up, so he was sitting on his shins facing Ashton, almost towering over the sitting man. 

“Victim!?” he exclaimed “YOU drugged me, took me away from my family and friends, YOU keep me against my will”  
“So?” Ashton said, unaffected  
“I AM A VICTIM, YOU ARSEHOLE” Luke screamed at him  
“Luke, calm down” Ashton said, softly  
“Why should I?” Luke questioned, still so angry “What makes you think by doing all this; I’m going to fall in love with you. Guess what? I’m not”  
“Yes, you will” Ashton replied, smile starting to appear on his face  
“No, I won’t and I know this because…..” Luke stopped  
“Because?” Ashton asked  
“Because I hate you” Luke spat “Get out”

Ashton flinched at Luke’s words. Luke didn’t hate him, he was just angry. He was just upset, he would get over it. He had to get over it. Ashton loved him and one day, sooner or later, Luke would love him too. Ashton decided that it would be best to leave Luke alone a bit longer and moved off the bed towards the door.  
Ashton walked as slowly as he possibly could towards the bedroom door, slightly hoping Luke would change his mind and ask him to stay. Luke watched him carefully, eyes never leaving him.

As Ashton reached for the door handle, he quickly spun on his heels and faced Luke. Hazel eyes met blue ones.

“I’m sorry, Luke” Ashton spoke softly “I do love you”

Not waiting for a reaction, Ashton spun back around and quickly opened the door and closed it softly behind him. Luke hearing the lock click.

As Ashton’s last words sunk in, Luke felt all the anger that was threatening to make his blood boil over, leave his body. He fell back onto the bed, exhausted. What the fuck!?

Ashton had apologised and for a moment Luke felt himself feeling sorry for the older man, he seemed so sincere. Luke had wanted an apology and Ashton gave him one. He wanted to believe him but was he just saying it to placate Luke.

Luke curled himself back into the ball in was in before Ashton came in, curling himself tighter if that was possible. Left alone, once again, with nothing but the sound of his breathing and that hurricane of thoughts about Ashton running through his head.

He drifted into a restless sleep slowly with just one thought circling around his head that stuck out from all the other thoughts like a neon sign….

Ashton was sorry and Luke was going to forgive him


	11. Day Thirty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains smut

Luke shivered and curled himself closer to the warm body that lay beside him, an arm draped over his waist, hand resting on his hip. He blinked his eyes open, took in the sight of sleeping Ashton beside him and he smiled. He shifted himself a little bit closer, still smiling and drifted back to sleep. 

Luke was woken by a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

“Luke, baby, you need to wake up” a deep voice spoke softly.  
“No” he mumbled back  
“Come on baby” the voice spoke again “I’ll make it worth your while”

Luke opened his eyes and looked up at Ashton who was leaning over him, smiling.

“Good morning, baby” Ashton said, placing a feather light kiss on Luke’s lips

“Morning” Luke replied, somewhat muffled as he placed a kiss to Ashton’s shoulder.  
Luke stared at the older man lying beside him, as Ashton stared back. He smiled widely at him, not sure if he had felt this much love for anyone before. Ashton was his.

“What you going to do to make it worth my while?” Luke asked, cheekily  
“Oh, I’m sure you will be very pleased” Ashton replied.

As soon as Ashton had finished talking, he immediately attached his lips to Luke’s neck, sucking hard enough to cause small red marks all over his throat, Luke twisting his head to give Ashton more access. Ashton placed one last quick kiss to his collarbone before he moved himself up and kisses Luke with such passion that Luke whimpers.

Ashton roughly kisses Luke, gently sliding one hand down Luke's stomach and past the waistband of Luke's boxers. His palm makes contact with Luke's clothed cock and Ashton expertly starts to palm Luke who was unashamed at letting out soft moans. They continue to kiss and only a few moments later Ashton pulls away smirking, feeling Luke's cock stiffen in his hand.

He moves himself down Luke’s body and when he reached it, he began to place quick kisses on Luke's clothed crotch, and Luke whimpers again, bucking his hips up. 

“Ash, please” Luke pleads softly

Ashton finally takes the hint and in one quick movement removes Luke's boxers, allowing Luke's leaking cock to slap his stomach, the cold causing Luke to loudly groan. Ashton smirked.

Ashton takes a moment to admire his beautiful boy, before reaching out his hand to take Luke's dick and pump him slowly and Luke is almost in heaven. Ashton wastes no time in placing Luke's throbbing cock in his mouth, looking up to see Luke looking down at him, face flushed and red. 

He immediately begins to bob his head up and down, taking Luke deeper into his mouth with every move. Luke can't believe this is happening, his heart s racing, his mind is whirling and he’s getting closer to toppling over the edge.

'Ash, please I'm gonna... oh god, I'm gonna.' Luke stutters, too overtaken by pleasure to form a coherent sentence. 

Ashton hums in response, and Luke groans once again, his release so close. A wave of pleasure washes over Luke, as he comes hot and fast into Ashton's mouth, who willingly swallows it all. 

Luke woke up with a jolt, sitting up quickly and out of breath. It was a fucking dream. He looked around the room, he was still alone and looking down at his pyjama pants, he now had an entirely new problem. 

After Luke had fixed his problem, to which apparently only thoughts of Ashton would work, he padded into the bathroom and cleaned himself off. Changing into some clean clothes and dumping his pyjamas in the laundry basket, Luke walked back into the bedroom.

If he wasn’t confused as hell before, he most certainly was now. He wasn’t the first time he’d dreamed about Ashton, it was however the first time the dream had been sexual. If he was being completely honest with himself, he didn’t hate it.

He moved slowly towards the door and out of the bedroom, into the hall and made his way down to the end and opened the door to Ashton’s office.   
Luke had been left alone in his room for two more days after Ashton’s last attack and Luke’s verbal lashing. Ashton would bring a tray of food, wait for Luke to eat, take the tray again all without a word.

Luke had slowly started to trust him again. 

Ashton had left the door unlocked after one visit with food and let Luke decide what he wanted to do with that. Luke ventured out of his room the next day, more wanting to get out of the room than wanting to please Ashton.

Things between them had changed slightly since the incident, which is what Luke had taken to calling it in his head, but mostly they were the same.  
Ashton had once again put his system of punishment and reward in place but not wanting a repeat of last time, Luke obeyed the rules. He rewarded Luke with access to a new room last night. 

Ashton had smiled widely as he showed Luke the new room. The room contained a small couch, a large TV, Xbox, walls of DVD’s and games and a bookcase filled with board games and puzzles. Luke would no longer be bored when Ashton wasn’t around; at least that’s how Ashton explained it to him.  
Luke was still thoroughly confused by Ashton’s actions. The incident that caused Luke to blow up, not caring about the consequences, was never mentioned again. Ashton had simply said ‘sorry’ the next morning when he brought Luke breakfast but then that was it.

Luke had even asked him when Ashton was going to punish him for breaking his rules; Ashton had just shrugged and said nothing. When Luke had attempted to push it, Ashton just said ‘forget about it’, and while he wanted to, he really couldn’t. He just never brought it up again.

As for the kiss, Ashton hadn’t tried anything since. Everything was back to the way it was before, the occasional affectionate gesture but mostly he would just ignore Luke.  
Luke wondered if Ashton had just wanted to put the past behind them and move on or he truly took to heart what Luke had said to him.

The truth was Luke didn’t hate Ashton. He honestly didn’t know how he felt about the older man. Sure, he knew Ashton kidnapping him and hurting him was wrong, he knew that since Ashton was his only source of human contact, there might be intense feelings but he had no idea how he felt.

He didn’t hate him, didn’t love him, hell, he wasn’t sure that he even liked Ashton. The dreams were not helping and he wished he could just figure out how he felt. It would make everything easier to deal with but no his mind was still a hurricane of thoughts about Ashton and his situation. It appeared the longer he was here, the worse it got.

He was just so confused….


	12. Day Fifty Four

Luke woke up with his head pounding. He groaned and his throat throbbed in protest, like he had swallowed razor blades. He tried getting out of the bed but his limbs felt heavy and ached with every move. Damn it, he was sick.

He moved slowly out of the bed although he screamed internally at every movement. He thought a nice, hot shower would help his aching bones. He stood still as the hot water washed over his sore muscles and with his mind racing.

The dreams he’d been having were getting more frequent and a lot more detailed. At first he was freaked out by them but now after a lot of them, he’d slowly gotten used to them and tried hard not to think about them much. But it was hard.

But when he did think about them, he was confused by them. He was certain that he didn’t feel that way about Ashton but why was he dreaming about Ashton like that? Did he have repressed feelings for him buried deep in his subconscious that dreams were the way of letting him know? 

He finished showering and got dressed in clean clothes, his mind still on Ashton. He wasn’t feeling any better, throat still sore, head pounding. His muscles still screaming protest as he walked out of his room and down the hall. Stepping into Ashton’s office, he padded slowly over to his chair and fell down. Ashton spun around in his seat and took in Luke’s appearance.

“Luke, baby, are you okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice  
“No, I’m sick” Luke mumbled his answer, face smooshed into the cushion.  
“Awww baby” Ashton said, getting up and walking over to Luke.

Ashton knelt down; face level with Luke’s head, running his hands through Luke’s hair, softly. Luke purred quietly and Ashton smiled.

“Hey, Lukey” Ashton said “How about we get you into bed?”  
“I don’t want to sleep with you” Luke said, quickly, eyes wide.  
“That’s not what I meant, Luke” Ashton laughed “You’re sick, you should be in bed”  
“Oh” Luke said, sheepishly “Sorry”

The dreams were still clearly on his mind and he had no idea why. He smiled softly as Ashton helped him out of the chair and kept an arm around his waist, keeping him steady as he struggled to walk properly.

Ashton helped Luke back into his pyjamas, Luke blushing as he stood in front of Ashton in just his boxers. Although he did think it wasn’t an appropriate time, Ashton couldn’t help but let his eyes wander over Luke’s gorgeous frame.

Luke got into the bed, pulling the covers over his shivering body, folding into himself. Ashton tucked him in and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

“Oh Lukey, you’re burning up” Ashton said “I’m going to go get some medicine for you”

Luke’s throat was so sore he didn’t answer, just nodded his head slowly. Ashton placed another kiss on Luke’s forehead and left the room.

Luke was left alone, again. Although his head was pounding and everything else was aching badly, his thoughts still overtook his mind, again. He needed to talk to someone about the dreams. If he was home, he’d tell Michael or Calum. Sure, they would mercilessly tease him but eventually when they stopped laughing, they would talk about it with him. He missed Michael and Calum and they weren’t here right now. He thought that maybe he could talk to Ashton about them.

After about twenty minutes, more or less, of the idea going through his head, Luke decided that he would indeed talk about the dreams with Ashton. He’d gone from kind of hating Ashton to wanting to confide in him. Was he starting to fall for him? No, that’s insane.

Ashton walked back in the room at the same time; Luke was having another back and forth in his mind. Ashton helped him sit up and handed him a cold glass of water and two small tablets, Luke accepted it all happily.

After swallowing the tablets and the finishing off the water in two big gulps, Luke kept his eyes on his hands in his lap.

“Ashton, can I talk to you about something?” he asked, voice cracking “It’s important”  
“Of course, baby” replied Ashton “But maybe you should get some rest, get better”  
“But I need to talk to you about something” Luke croaked “Now”  
“Okay, Lukey” Ashton said “What’s on your mind?”  
“Ummm, I’ve been having dreams” Luke stammered “I don’t know what to do about them”

“What are they about?” Ashton said “Maybe they are trying to tell you something”  
“They are about….” Luke muttered “They are about….ummm…you”  
“Me” Ashton smirked “What are you dreaming about me?”  
“Sexstuff” Luke mumbled, quickly   
“I’m sorry, Luke, I didn’t hear that” Ashton smirked again “Want to try that again?”

Luke took a deep breath in and ended up in a small coughing fit. Ashton’s hands on his back, rubbing until Luke stopped. Ashton gently took Luke’s chin in his hand and slowly turned his head so they were facing each other. Luke’s eyes were everywhere except looking at Ashton.

“Luke, look at me” Ashton said, softly

Luke closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he locked eyes with Ashton. 

“Tell me what the dreams are about?” Ashton asked, still staring into Luke’s eyes  
“Ummm sex stuff” Luke stuttered quietly, eyes not moving “About you”  
“Oh” Ashton said “Do you like the dreams?”  
“Ummm yes” Luke replied, whispering “But I’m not sure I like you”  
“Oh” Ashton said, dropping his gaze and his smile turning into a frown.

Luke was still staring at Ashton and noticed the look on Ashton’s face change. He noticed the frown, the creased eyebrows and his hands fidgeting. He quickly decided he didn’t like the look that graced Ashton’s features.

“Ashton, I’m sorry” Luke said, quickly “It’s just I’m so confused”  
“It’s okay” Ashton replied, just as quickly “I understand”

“But we will talk about it another time, okay” Ashton continued, still frowning “You just get some rest and get better”  
“Okay” Luke said “Thank you”

Ashton just smiled at him and started to move away from Luke but Luke grabbed his arm and pushed himself forward, Ashton stumbling a bit from the force, Luke pressed his lips to Ashton’s. Surprised by the move, Ashton didn’t react until Luke started to pull away and he put a hand onto the back of Luke’s neck and pulled him forward. 

Luke squeaked with surprise that Ashton was now kissing him back before he settled in to the kiss. Ashton pulled away after a few moments, Luke whimpered a little. It was a nice, proper kiss. Luke liked it, a lot. 

He sat back against the headboard and breathed in heavily. Ashton smirked at him.

“That was sweet, Lukey” Ashton said “But you need to get some rest now. Feel better”

Ashton practically skipped out of the room, leaving Luke alone again. Luke touched his mouth and grinned. He liked the kiss, loved it actually. 

Maybe he was starting to fall for Ashton….


	13. The Other Side Of Things - Part 2

Michael sat on the bench in the park, staring somewhere in the distance. It was the same park bench where he last saw Luke. The last place he saw him. Ashton.

With each passing day, Michael was convinced it was his fault. Nobody had said anything specific to him but he knew that they all blamed him. He should’ve insisted Luke come home with him. If he had done that, then Luke wouldn’t be missing. 

He crumpled the piece of paper in his hands and then smoothed it out. He’d been doing that for a while now. Crumpling it up and then smoothing it out. It was the missing poster the Hemmings’ family had put all over the park and the surrounding neighbourhoods. 

Michael had offered to help but Mr Hemmings told him it wasn’t necessary, that they could handle it and that Michael should just stop worrying about it.

He looked down at the poster in his hands. ‘They didn’t choose the most flattering picture’ he thought to himself and smiled. Luke would hate the picture they’d chosen, his school picture. He remembered the day that it was taken, just a few months before he disappeared. It was probably the most recent picture of Luke that they had.  
The police appeared to have all but given up on finding Luke. They spoke to everyone who was at the park the day Luke vanished but nobody saw anything. The case was still open, Michael had been ringing every few days to make sure of that, asking if they had anything new. 

Michael was so lost in thought he didn’t see anyone approaching him until he felt the bench give a little as Calum sat down next to him.

“It’s not your fault, Mikey” Calum said, eyeing the paper in his friend’s hands.

“If I had forced Luke to come home with me, he’d be sitting with us right now” Michael replied, sadly

“No, he’d be at home studying for the math test” Calum said “He’s a nerd like that”

“Cal, he’d still be around”

“You don’t know that, Mikey, this Ashton guy had a plan to take him” said Calum “He saw his chance and he took it”

“But Cal…”

“No, he wanted to take Luke” Calum continued “He would’ve just done it another day”

“What can we do?” Michael said “Everyone blames me”

“Nobody blames you, Mikey” Calum said “You blame yourself, no one else think it’s your fault but you”

“The only thing we can do is not give up” Calum continued “We find him and we bring him home”

“The police have nothing” Michael said, tears threatening to fall “We have nothing”

“We have nothing today” Calum replied “Tomorrow is a different story”  
Calum was doing the best he could to stop the guilt from eating Michael alive. He told him from the first day that he wasn’t to blame and he meant it. This Ashton guy obviously had plans to take Luke from the beginning and that terrified Calum. He shuddered at the thought of what Luke could be going through right now. 

Calum put a hand on Michael’s shoulder, reaching over and grabbing the paper from Michael’s hands. He stuck it on the pole next to the bench. He smiled as he told Michael that they would bring Luke home.

Michael stood up and engulfed Calum in a hug, whispering ‘thank you’ as he quietly sobbed into his friend’s shoulder. Neither of them noticed Luke’s older brothers come up to them.

“What are you doing here?” a voice from behind them spat 

“Jack” Calum said, letting go of Michael “We are here to help”

“I think he’s done enough” Jack spat in Michael’s direction

“It’s not his fault” Calum argued, anger starting to rise in his blood “Can we get passed that?”

“He told the police, the guy weirded him out but did nothing to protect Luke from him” Jack said, angrily “My baby brother is gone”

Calum’s shoulders sagged. He knew deep down, Jack didn’t blame Michael, not really. He just missed his brother. Luke and Jack were close and he knows that Jack feels a little guilty about not being there for his little brother, even though nobody had any idea that this was going to happen.

“Jack, this is NOT Mikey’s fault” Calum repeated “Stop blaming him”

“Who’s fault is it then?” he asked, seething

“Ashton’s” Calum said, calmly “He’s the one that took Luke, whoever he is, this is his fault. He’s the one that had caused all of this”

Jack stepped back. Calum was right. A hand was placed on his shoulder, Ben’s hand.

“Come on, Jack” said Ben, softly “Michael’s not to blame, you know that”

“I know” Jack said, almost a whisper  
Calum reached out to Jack and took the papers he held in his hands. His eyes scanned the page, as he realised they were copies of the Luke’s missing page.

“What are you doing with these?” Calum asked

“Handing them out to everyone we see” Ben answered “Maybe the police missed people from that day. At this point, we are willing to try anything. We know Luke’s out there and we are trying everything we can to bring him home”

“Can we help?” Michael spoke up, quietly

Jack looked him, eyebrows raised.

“You want to help, even after how mean I’ve been to you lately?” he asked

“I want Luke home too” Michael replied “Hate me all you want, but I will still want to help anyway I can”

“Okay” Ben said “Of course, you can. Here”

Ben handed Michael and Calum half of his stack of papers and pointed behind them.

“You guys take that side of the park” Ben said “We haven’t been over there today”

Okay, we can do that” Calum said “Come on, Mikey, let’s bring Luke home”

Michael nodded as his friend walked away. Starting to follow him, he was turned back around by Jack’s hand on his arm.

“Michael, I’m sorry” Jack said “I have never blamed you but it help to blame you. I’m sorry, Luke will probably hit me when he comes home and finds out about that”

“It’s okay, Jack, I blamed me too” Michael said “This is hard for you, it’s hard for all of us but I promise you, Luke will come home”

“Thank you, Michael” said Jack, smiling “Meet back here later”

Michael gave Jack thumbs up and ran to catch up with Calum, who was talking to an older lady, handing her the paper. 

Michael and Calum spent the rest of the afternoon handing out the flyers to anybody they came across. It’d been almost two months since Luke was taken but they were not giving up until Luke was home again.

They were going to find Luke……one day.


	14. Day Fifty Six

Luke woke up, drenched in sweat. He was still groggy and felt like he’d been hit by a truck but his sore throat seemed to be easing. He slowly looked around his room. His eyes landed on Ashton, fast asleep in a chair that had been pulled beside his bed. 

Luke’s eyes wandered over Ashton’s sleeping form, taking in the small details. Like the way, his mouth was slightly open, soft snores coming out. The way his soft curls fell over his face, he looked peaceful and adorable. Wait!

Did Luke just call Ashton adorable? His eyes widened when he realised what he had just thought. Yeah, sure he had kissed Ashton but that was only to make sure that the dreams were just that, dreams. He really didn’t want to be falling for Ashton.

He thought about all the times Ashton had hurt him. He had drugged him and kidnapped him. He was keeping Luke here against his will. He had physically beat Luke a number of times. Despite all of this, despite the fact that Luke should hate him, he could honestly say it. Luke didn’t hate Ashton.

He shook his head slowly to get rid of the thoughts and looked at Ashton again. He wasn’t unattractive and Luke could honestly say that if things were different, if Ashton had asked him out instead of kidnapping him, Luke would’ve said yes. 

His first impression of Ashton had been that he seemed like a nice guy. That first day he had met him in the park, Luke had been attracted to him. He wasn’t denying that, at least not anymore. But everything Ashton had done since that day, made Luke think his first impression was so completely wrong.

He had thought that maybe the dreams were his subconscious’ way of saying, ‘hey you could’ve really liked this guy’. Maybe his subconscious hadn’t gotten the memo about the reality of his situation. That must be it.

“Luke?” Ashton said

Luke was startled by Ashton’s voice; he had been so lost in his thoughts, once again.

“Yeah” he croaked

“You’re awake, you’ve been asleep for almost two days” Ashton said, softly “How are you feeling, baby?”

“Ummm still feel like crap” Luke said, voice cracking with every word “Throat’s a little better though”

“Your fever spiked around midnight” Ashton said, as he got up from the chair “I came in here to check on you, I stayed because I was worried”

“Oh” Luke said, quietly “Thank you for looking out for me”

“I’m here to take care of you, Lukey” Ashton smiled “Do you want something to eat?”

“No, thank you” Luke answered “Wouldn’t say no to a shower though”

“Okay, love” Ashton said, still smiling “Do you need some help?”

“No, I’m good” Luke replied, a slight blush coating his cheeks “I’m sure I’ll be able to manage”

“Okay” Ashton said “I’ll leave you to it. Come and find me, if you want to”

Ashton placed a kiss to Luke’s forehead and left the room. Luke stood up slowly and almost fell over when he went to take a step. His muscles still ached and were quite weak still. He wasn’t sure if they would support him. 

He shuffled over to his dresser before he shuffled over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He tried not to move his limbs much, worried that they would just give way. He tried three times to keep his balance while he removed his pyjama pants but failed each time. He stood, defeated, staring at himself in the mirror. There was no way around it. 

He opened the bathroom door back up and called, as loud as he could, for Ashton.   
“Ashton” Luke called, voice still hoarse. 

Would Ashton even be able to hear him? He called out three times before he gave up and started to move out of the bathroom. He was almost halfway across his room when Ashton walked in.

“Sorry, Lukey, I heard you” Ashton said “I was just on the phone”

“Oh” 

“Did you need something?” he asked

“I need help with…this” Luke said, sheepishly waving his arms at his clothes as he swayed a little.

“Oh” Ashton smirked “You need my help getting undressed”

“Please” Luke pleaded, in a whisper.

“Okay” Ashton said “I can help you. Let’s get you back in the bathroom”

Ashton slid an arm around Luke’s waist and directed him back into the bathroom, supporting most of weight. He closed the door behind them both as he made sure Luke could stand up alone. Luke swayed a little as Ashton placed his hands on the elastic waist of his pyjama pants.

“Lukey, are you sure you want me to do this?” Ashton asked, softly “I can close my eyes if you feel uncomfortable”  
“No, it’s okay” Luke said, quickly “I just want you to help, please”

Luke’s head spun as Ashton helped him out of his pants and then his boxers. Tapping him on the shoulders to lift his arms up to remove his shirt and that was it. He was standing, completely naked, in front of Ashton. A deep blush coated his cheeks as Ashton shamelessly checked him out.

“Ashton” he squeaked, hands going to cover himself up as much as he could.

“I’m sorry, baby” Ashton said “You are beautiful. Let’s get you into the shower”

Ashton turned on the shower, made sure the water was cold. He needed it to be cold for Luke, to cool him down.

“I’m going to be just outside if you need me” Ashton said, as he helped Luke step into the shower.

“Okay” Luke croaked

Ashton left Luke alone in the bathroom, shutting the door behind him as he walked out but not before sending Luke a cheeky wink.

Luke couldn’t stop thinking about it. Ashton had seen him naked, completely naked. And he had called Luke beautiful. No one has ever called him beautiful. He smiled as the cool water washed over him.

He stepped out and called for Ashton to help he get redressed, which Ashton did. Luke smiled at the fact, that this time, Ashton closed his eyes without asking. He helped Luke back into bed, pulling the covers over him and kissing him on the forehead.

“Rest now, love” Ashton whispered “Sleep well, beautiful”

Luke closed his eyes, still smiling softly at Ashton’s words. He heard Ashton’s footsteps cross the room and heard him open the door. 

“Ash” Luke said, almost a whisper “I think you’re beautiful too”

“Awww Lukey, that’s very sweet” Ashton said, still standing at the door “I’ll be back later to check on you”

“Thank you” Luke said, voice still a whisper “Thank you for looking after me”

Ashton didn’t respond but Luke saw him smile again as he shut the door. And the last thing Luke thought before he drifted back to sleep.

Ashton really is beautiful…..


	15. Day Sixty

Luke placed the bowl on the tray and carefully lifted it off the bench. He walked slowly down the hall towards his bedroom. Balancing the tray on his right arm, Luke opened the door as quietly as he could. Almost tripping over his own feet as he entered the room, Luke made his way over to his bed.

He slowly placed the tray on the bedside table, straightening everything on it. Luke sat down on the edge of his bed, slowly placing his hand on the shoulder of the body in his bed and shaking gently.

“Ashton, wake up” Luke said, quietly

Ashton had taken to sleeping next to Luke in his bedroom for the last few days or so, while Luke was sick, taking care of him. When Luke got better, it was Ashton’s turn to be sick. Now, Luke was taking care of him. Ashton didn’t force him to or even ask him to, Luke just wanted to. 

“Ashton” Luke repeated “Wake up. You should eat something”

Ashton groaned and slowly turned himself over so he was facing Luke. A small smile slowly graced his features.

“Hi, Lukey” Ashton croaked, eyeing the tray on the bedside table “You made me soup?”

“Hi, yeah I did” Luke replied “I thought you should eat something. How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck” he laughed softly before bursting into a coughing fit.

Luke reached over and grabbed the glass of water off the tray and handed it Ashton. He tried to take the glass but Luke had a firm grip and insisted on keeping hold of the glass as he tipped it up to let Ashton take a sip.  
“Thank you, Lukey” Ashton said, when he finished coughing “Can I go back to sleep now?”

“No, you can’t” Luke said “You have to eat something and then you can sleep”

Luke stood up off the bed and picked the tray up off the table. He nodded at Ashton, motioning for him to sit up properly. Ashton did as he was silently asked and sat up, the tray placed in front of him. 

“It’s chicken noodle” Luke said, as Ashton stared at the bowl “It’s the best soup for when you’re sick. My mum used to tell me that”

Ashton took note of the way Luke said ‘used to’ and frowned. He turned his head and looked Luke straight in the eye.

“Luke….” He started but stopped because he had no idea what to say

“Ashton, just eat” Luke said, sadly “You’ll feel better”

Ashton took the spoon and slurped the soup, Luke watching and smiling. Luke hadn’t thought about his family in a while. When he had first been taken, he cried himself to sleep many times thinking about his family, about his friends.

He’d stopped crying after a while, realising it wasn’t going to help anything. He didn’t think about them much anymore either. Only on the rare occasion that he did something or Ashton did something that reminded him of them, which wasn’t often. His family and friends were completely different from Ashton.

Luke was still confused about his feelings for Ashton but he’d grown more comfortable around him. He didn't fear him anymore. Maybe he was just being stubborn about the whole situation. Still, there was no doubt that he’d grown closer to Ashton in the last week or so, he knew that much.

Ashton had taken good care of him over the last few days, especially. Bringing him soup, keeping him hydrated, bringing him medicine, helping him get better. Ashton had barely left Luke’s side and that thought made Luke smile.

His sexual dreams about Ashton had actually increased, occurring almost every night and they’d up the ante. Luke waking up everyday, moaning and flushed, out of breath. Ashton had not given it much thought, putting it down to Luke being ill.

“Lukey, I’ve finished” Ashton’s voice pulled him from he thoughts 

Luke smiled at him. He stood up again and took the tray away from Ashton and started to walk out of the room.

“Lukey, where are you going?” Ashton said, voice cracking as he spoke louder

“I’m just going to clean this up” Luke replied “I’ll be back very soon”  
“Okay” Ashton said “I won’t go anywhere”

Luke giggled and left the room, making his way back into the kitchen. He still couldn’t get over how well Ashton had taken care of him while he was sick and now he wanted to do the same for Ashton, considering it was probably his fault that Ashton was sick.

He also couldn’t believe that he’d been here for almost two months. He’d asked Ashton the date a few days ago and Ashton had told him. He’d been surprised by that and had told Ashton that much. Ashton had just responded by stating ‘that he’d never asked before’ and Luke couldn’t argue with that.

Two months. He’d lived mostly in fear during that first month, or what he assumed to be the first month. The last month was when the dreams started and Luke hadn’t been at all prepared for them, now he mostly enjoyed them. He couldn’t deny that. He’d never spoke to Ashton about them again, he was a little scared to bring it up again, afraid of what Ashton’s response would be.

He washed, dried and put away all the dishes he used to make Ashton lunch and made his way back to the bedroom. 

Ashton was lying back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He looked over at Luke and smiled as he walked back into the room.

“Hi, Lukey” he said, voice cracking at every word “Thank you for looking after me”

“You’re welcome” Luke smiled “You take such good care of me, I wanted to repay the favour”

“I take care of you because I love you” Ashton said, nonchalantly 

Luke didn’t respond, just looked everywhere but at Ashton. Ashton stared at Luke.

“Sorry, Lukey” Ashton said, after a while “Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable”

“It’s okay” Luke replied, softly

“Lukey, will you lie down with me?” Ashton asked, quietly “Please”

“Sure” Luke replied, quickly.

Luke placed himself on the edge of the bed and shuffled himself down, so he was lying down, on his left side, Ashton on his back next to him.

Ashton shuffled a little closer to Luke and turned onto his side, so he was facing Luke, staring into his eyes. Ashton shut his eyes, ready to fall asleep. 

Luke watched him, intently. Before he could think too much about it, he lent forward and placed a soft kiss on Ashton’s lips. He pulled away a moment later, Ashton with a smile on his face. 

“Thank you, baby” was all Ashton said before he drifted off to sleep.

‘What did I just do?’


	16. Day Sixty Eight

Luke stared at the screen, his own face staring back at him. He’d been contentedly flipping through the channels when he saw his face. He stared open mouthed at the television, watching intently, and tears threatening to spill when he saw his parents appear on screen. They were begging for him to come home. He let the tears fall.

He missed his family and friends but he never thought for second at what they were feeling. Now he knew what they were going through. He saw the dark bags under their eyes, telling him that they weren’t sleeping much. He saw the way their shoulders hunched over, like it was too much effort to stand up straight. He heard them plead for Ashton to give them their boy back. He saw Ben and Jack stand behind them, Michael and Calum in the background. 

He watched every second not taking his eyes off his mother, terrified that if he did, she would disappear. He missed her. He missed his dad, his brothers, Michael and Calum. He missed them all terribly but he had resigned himself to staying with Ashton. His family hadn’t done that.   
His family hadn’t given up hope that he would return to them. Luke had. He heard the reporter say this was the third time that the Hemmings family has publicly pleaded for help in finding him. His family hadn’t given up and he doubted they ever would but he had. He was a terrible son, a horrible brother and a selfish friend. 

He stared at the television long after his family had disappeared from the screen only to be replaced by some cartoon. He jerked backwards on the couch. He turned the television off but still stared at the screen, his blue eyes filled with tears.

He was full on sobbing when Ashton walked into the room. Concern graced his features as he approached Luke, cautiously.

“Baby?” he asked “What’s wrong?”

Ashton placed a hand on Luke’s arm and rubbed comfortingly. Luke felt everything but comforted. He felt angry, sad and irritated. He shook Ashton’s hand away and glared at him through glassy eyes.

“Stay away from me” he spat

Ashton recoiled at the anger in Luke’s voice. He thought they were getting along better. It’d been a few days since Luke had kissed him but Ashton tried not to pressure him, leaving Luke alone to work through what he needed to. This can’t have been easy for him. Sure, Ashton wanted Luke to be his but he wasn’t going to force him into it. It would be much better if Luke wanted him too.

“What did I do?” he asked, concerned

“You kidnapped me” Luke spat.

It was only the third time that Luke had said it aloud, choosing mostly to ignore the fact that, yes, Ashton had kidnapped him. He found himself growing fonder of the older man everyday. So he had pushed away the fact that Ashton had taken him away from everything he has ever known without a second thought. He didn’t think about how it would affect his parents, his brothers or his friends. Ashton was the selfish one.

Ashton stood up when Luke said this, moving slightly back, looking at Luke like he’d gone crazy, and a smirk appearing on his face.

“Oh, so we are back to this then, are we?” Ashton said, calmly “Luke, I am aware of what I’ve done”

“You took me away from my family, my friends” he said, angrily “You don’t care about them”

“No, I don’t” Ashton replied, still calm “They are not important to me”

“They are important to me” Luke practically shouted “Why did you do this?”

“I told you that already and I really don’t feel like repeating myself” Ashton said “We’ve been over this. Why do you suddenly care?”

“They were on television, Ashton” Luke screamed at him “They were begging for me to come home”

“Oh, so now that you can see them, you care about what’s going on with them?” Ashton said “You didn’t seem to care yesterday or the day before. You haven’t mentioned any of them in weeks”

Luke scooted backwards on the couch, as far away from Ashton as he could while staying on the couch. He couldn’t really argue with that. He hadn’t thought much about them in the last few weeks, he was content with just Ashton. But seeing his crying mother on screen changed something in him.

“I’ve always cared” Luke said “I might not talk about them because it hurts. Did you think of that?”  
“Oh come on Lukey” Ashton replied “That’s not the truth and you know it”

Luke stared at him, watching as he made a move towards him. Luke stood up from the couch and ran towards the door. He was giving up this easily this time.

“Stay away from me” he said again, hand on the doorknob.

“Luke….” Ashton said, sternly “Don’t make me do something I might regret”

Luke took a deep breath in, twisted the handle and opened the door, sprinting as fast as he could towards his room. He couldn’t get out of this house but he could get away from Ashton. He opened the door to his room and quickly shut it behind him, standing firmly against it. 

He looked around the room. He knew locking it wouldn’t do any good, Ashton had a key. He looked towards his dresser and moved quickly. Ashton would be close behind soon. He used all the strength he had and pushed the dresser in front of the door, effectively holding the door in place just in time. Ashton banging on the door as Luke stepped away.

“Luke” he heard Ashton yell “You’re being a brat. Open up”

Luke stood firm even though every part of him was shaking. He tried calming himself down but the adrenaline was pumping through his veins. He took a couple of deep breaths in and out but he was still out of breath.

“Stay away from me” he yelled “I don’t want you anywhere near me”

He saw the door shaking as Ashton tried to get in. He smiled to himself because his plan to keep Ashton out was working. He’d pat himself on the back for his quick thinking but he knew eventually Ashton would find a way in and punish him for it but for now he was safe from him.

“Luke” Ashton yelled through the door “Let me in”

“No” Luke yelled back

“Fine” Ashton replied “Have it your way for now. But we will just wait and see what happens next”

The tone of Ashton’s voice scared Luke and made his chest tighten. He stared at the door like he was going to bust in at any moment and make Luke pay for locking him out. He tried again to calm himself down but he was terrified now. He knew Ashton would hurt him when he eventually got in.

He heard Ashton walk away, shouting that this was not the end of this and such other things that Luke couldn’t quite make out the further Ashton walked away. Luke took another deep breath in and out, eyes still on the door, he sat down on his bed.

He scooted back on the bed, not taking his eyes of the door, and leaned back on the headboard. He was physically and mentally exhausted. He felt himself start to struggle to keep himself awake as the minutes passed. The last thought he had before he fell asleep.

What am I going to do now?


	17. Day Sixty Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains violence with a weapon. Be careful

Luke woke up with a jolt. The banging on his bedroom door had woken him up. It took him a few seconds for his brain to catch up to what was happening. He scooted quickly of the bed and stood in front of his dresser that was still in front of the door. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Hours or just minutes could’ve passed since he effectively locked Ashton out of his room. He smiled slightly at the thought that he was now in control. Ashton couldn’t get in unless Luke let him in. 

The banging on the door continued and was soon joined by Ashton’s voice yelling though it. 

“Luke” he shouted “You will let me in now”

“No” Luke shouted back “I don’t want you here”

“You will let me in now” Ashton yelled “This has gone on long enough. I won’t stand for it anymore”

“You don’t get to make that decision” Luke said, voice still raised “I’m not letting you in”

He heard Ashton take a loud deep breath in as if he was calming himself down. 

“Luke, you will let me in or” Ashton said

“Or what?” Luke interrupted him

“Or I’ll force my way in and trust me when I say that you don’t want me doing that” Ashton replied

“I’m not letting you in” Luke replied, voice firm despite the fact that he was now shaking all over again.

Luke heard Ashton take another loud breath in and then heard footsteps walking away. Had Ashton really given up that easily?

Luke sighed in slight relief. Ashton had left him alone again. He stayed standing in the middle of the room, muscles tight as he stood rigid, not moving. He had a thousand and one thoughts running through his head but the most prominent one was that Ashton was going to come back, eventually. 

Luke sat down on the floor and pulled his knees to his chest. Would this nightmare ever end? He had seen his family, his friends. Yes, it had been on a screen but now he was determined to see them again, in the flesh. His missed them.

Tears were starting to fall again when a loud bang and cracking sound startled him out of his thoughts.

He looked up at the door and saw the wood had been splintered, he stood up quickly. Another bang and he gasped. Ashton was forcing his way in, just like he had threatened, with an axe. He was chopping the door down. A few more heavy swings and the door were in pieces but the dresser stood firm. 

Ashton cleared the few remaining pieces of debris out of his way and looked up, locking eyes with Luke and smirked.

“Hello, Lukey” he smiled

Luke gulped. Ashton wasn’t done. He pushed the dresser forward with all his strength and it toppled over like it was nothing. Luke didn’t move. Ashton stepped into the room moving quickly to stand directly in front of Luke.

Luke still didn’t move. In was in shock. Ashton had just fucking put an axe through his door, and now he was smiling. Ashton brought his hand up to grip Luke’s bicep and squeezed hard, Luke finally moved, well he flinched.

“Lukey, I told you that I would get in” Ashton smirked “I also told you that you wouldn’t want me to do that”

Luke gulped again and dropped his gaze to the floor. The look on Ashton’s face scared him. Ashton scared him. Ashton didn’t seem to care and he gripped Luke’s arm tighter and pulled him forward.

Luke flinched again and stumbled forward as Ashton pulled him. Ashton dragged him by the arm to the entertainment room. Luke was a little relieved that he didn’t grab his hair this time around. He threw Luke onto the couch and walked out of the room. Luke had no idea what was going on.

Ashton returned to the room, axe in his hands, grinning maliciously at Luke. He swung the axe in Luke’s direction, Luke screamed but Ashton missed him by an inch, maybe less. 

Ashton swung again, this time at the television, glass cracking and spilling all over the floor. Splinters hitting Luke in the face, small cuts on his cheeks. But Ashton wasn’t done. 

He swung the axe again, at the bookshelves this time. The books, games and DVD cases flying everywhere. Luke buried himself in the couch to avoid the cases as they flew all over the room.

Ashton swung again, the Xbox splintering in two like it was made of glass. A few more swings and the entertainment was no more. Even the couch that Luke was sitting on wasn’t left untouched. Its insides all over the room. Luke cowered on it, eyes wide in panic.

What if Ashton swung the axe at him?

“There” Ashton said “I feel better now”

Luke chanced a look up, only to find Ashton standing in the middle of the room, the floors covered in the remains of books, games, DVD’s and shelves. Ashton turned to look at him, smiling.

“Better the room than you, Lukey” Ashton said, with a wide grin

Luke just stared at him, eyes still wide and glassy. How the fuck could Ashton do this? Act like this was nothing. Luke looked around the room, well what was left of it. He looked back at Ashton, who was still smiling at him.

“Why did you do this?” Luke squeaked out

“I warned you, Luke” Ashton stated “This is the consequence for locking me out” 

“Why not just lock me out of this room?” Luke asked 

“You made me angry” Ashton said “I’ve given you a lot and you continue to throw it back in my face. I’ve had enough”

“What!?”

“I’ve been extremely generous with you, Luke” Ashton said “But you continue to behave like a brat when things don’t go your way”

“I was upset about seeing my parents crying on TV so you take an axe to a room” Luke said, disbelief because Ashton was acting like this was normal.

“Yes” Ashton stated, voice stern “You only have yourself to blame. You need to think about your actions”

“My actions?” Luke squeaked 

“Yes” Ashton said, exasperated “You don’t appreciate what I’ve done for you, then you won’t have it anymore”

Luke dropped his gaze to the debris ridden floor. He doesn’t understand why he seems to accept Ashton’s explanation. Maybe he’s still in shock. Ashton just took an axe to his door, to an entire room and Luke wants to say he’s sorry. Luke needs to say sorry but he doesn’t fully understand why he needs to so he just shrugs his shoulders and mumbles to himself.

“What did you say, Lukey?” Ashton asked

“I’m sorry” Luke repeated, louder this time “It won’t happen again”

“Good boy” Ashton replied “I’ll think about accepting your apology. But for now, come, I have work to finish”

Ashton walked out of the room, leaving the axe on the floor and Luke had no choice but to follow. So he did. 

He followed Ashton into his office and sat down on the chair, his chair, and watched Ashton curiously as he began typing on his computer.

How could he act like nothing had just happened? Maybe this was his way of coping with Luke and his attitude. Luke hangs his head and mumbles again. Ashton spins around in his chair.

“Luke, you really need to speak up” he said, hazel eyes boring into Luke’s blue ones.

“I’m really very sorry” Luke replied “Please forgive me”

“I know you are” Ashton said “And I do forgive you, if you promise not to do anything like that again”

“Okay” Luke said, softly “I promise, Ashton”

“Good. All is forgiven”


	18. Day Eighty One

Luke looked up from where he was sitting in Ashton’s office. He watched Ashton for a few moments, curious as to what he was doing. The older man sat at his desk, typing away on his computer as usual and as usual ignoring Luke. 

“Ashton?” Luke called out to him

“Yeah baby” Ashton responded, not entirely giving Luke his attention

“Can I ask you something?” he asked, timidly 

“Of course you can” Ashton replied, now fully turning around in his chair to face Luke “What’s up?”

“What do you do?” Luke asked, quietly, unsure if he was even allowed to ask “Like for your job?”

Ashton stared at him, eyes a little wide, eyebrows raised because Luke had been with him for almost three months and he’d never asked before. To be honest, Luke had never really asked any questions. The questions he did ask were always based around why Ashton had taken him. He did notice that Luke had changed recently. His attitude towards Ashton had changed, the way he spoke to him, his need to always be around him. Luke never really spent time alone anymore, preferring to just sit in his chair in Ashton’s office.

“Do you really want to know?” Ashton asked

“Is it illegal?”

“Oh god no” Ashton laughed “Not everything I do is against the law, Luke”

Luke visibly gulped. Had he said the wrong thing? But Ashton was still laughing, so maybe he hadn’t. 

“It’s just not that interesting” Ashton replied, when he finished giggling to himself “I fix people’s computer issues”

“That sounds interesting” Luke said

“No, it doesn’t”

“What do you do for them?” Luke asked “Like what sort of computer problems?”

“Mainly, it’s just fixing viruses and stuff” Ashton said, turning back to his computer “Occasionally someone will want me to fix bugs in games and glitches in programs, stuff like that”

“So you know a bit about computers, then?” Luke asked. He knew nothing about computers but he was keen to keep the conversation with Ashton going.

Luke had been wondering a lot about the older man lately. Figuring that if he was going to be staying here for a while, he should make an effort to get to know Ashton. He’d been really nervous about striking up a conversation in order to learn more about Ashton, scared he’d say the wrong thing. Ashton didn’t really like talking about himself; he would always quickly deflect any questions he didn’t want to answer.

“I know enough to get by” Ashton answered “But it’s not what I really want to do”

“What do you really want to do?” Luke asked

“I’ve always wanted to be a writer” replied Ashton “Always liked writing. Thought maybe I could be a travel writer or write about music. It didn’t turn out that way, though”

“What happened?” Luke asked, starting to think he was pushing it with all the questions as Ashton’s facial expressions changed.

“Nothing, just changed my mind” Ashton answered, eyebrows furrowed and lips in a thin line. “What do you want to do?”

“As in now?” Luke said, quizzically

“No, Luke, as in a career?” Ashton asked, laughing lightly

“I’ve always wanted to be a vet” he replied “I love animals so I thought that a vet would be a good choice at least that was until….”

Luke trailed off, unsure if he should finish that sentence. ‘Until you took me away from that’ is how he had thought about it but he stopped himself from saying it out loud. Ashton turned back to Luke and stared at him.

“Until I kidnapped you” Ashton growled “Why do you never say what you want to? Do I scare you that much?”

‘YES’ the voice in Luke’s head screamed but instead he shook his head and looked down at the floor.

“Luke, look at me” Ashton said, sternly “Why do you do that?”

Luke slowly looked back up at Ashton. 

“Honestly, yes, I’m a little scared of you” Luke said, almost a whisper

“Oh” was all Ashton said as Luke looked back down at the ground, like his sock clad feet were the most interesting thing in the world. 

He screwed up. He was having a decent conversation with Ashton and then he had to go and screw it up and Ashton was angry with him. How is it possible that Ashton actually likes him? He’s an idiot. He always says the wrong thing. 

Luke flinched as he felt fingers on his chin. Ashton had gotten up from his chair and was standing impossibly close to Luke now, his fingers lifting up his chin and his other hand, resting on his arm. There was nothing about this that should scare Luke but it did.

“Lukey” Ashton said, gently “I’m sorry, baby”

What!? Luke was the one that screwed up but Ashton was apologising to him like it was his fault. It wasn’t. It was Luke’s fault, it’s always Luke’s fault. If he wasn’t such a screw up, Ashton wouldn’t get angry at him, Ashton wouldn’t hurt him. Not that Ashton had hurt him recently. 

“Lukey, baby” Ashton said, softly “Can you please look at me, sweetheart?”

Luke frowned before he lifted his head slowly and looked directly into Ashton’s hazel eyes and smiled slightly. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart” Ashton said, quietly “I never wanted you to be afraid of me”

Luke shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 

“It’s not your fault” he whispered

“But it is, Luke” Ashton responded “It is all my fault”

Luke just shook his head again and before he could think anymore about what he was doing or before Ashton could say another word, Luke closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips against Ashton’s.

Ashton made a small squeak of surprise as Luke just pressed harder against him, Ashton just stood there, letting Luke kiss him. He let Luke push him slightly backwards until he felt his back hit the wall. He felt Luke smile as Ashton gasped before he finally responded, Ashton still in shock that Luke was kissing him. He wrapped his arms around Luke’s shoulders and pulled him impossibly closer; moving his lips against Luke’s in sync. 

He was kissing Ashton. This was different from the other times they kissed, there was more passion in this kiss and it had already lasted longer than the other times combined. Luke had this urge, this pure lust that was driving him to keep kissing Ashton, so he did. 

Luke came out of his daze when Ashton pushed his tongue inside Luke’s mouth and for a few seconds, Luke let Ashton lick into it before he pulled himself away from Ashton, breathing erratic and eyes wide. 

“Ashton, I’m sorry” Luke stammered his way through an apology

Ashton just shook his head, wrapped his arms back around Luke’s shoulders and pulled him back in, but not before whispering…

“I didn’t say stop”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long. Hope you enjoy it.


	19. The Other Side Of Things - Part 3

Michael sat alone at the table, his untouched lunch in front of him. He barely ate much anymore. Everything was consumed by thoughts of Luke.

It’d been over three months since Luke disappeared. There were no leads, there was nothing. Luke had disappeared without a trace.

Weeks of talking to everyone that step foot into the park where Luke was last seen had left them empty handed. Few had seen Luke in the park that day, no one had seen him leave and no one recognised the description they had of Ashton.

Ashton. Michael had come to despise just the mere mention of his name. He still beats himself up everyday about the fact that he left Luke alone with him and probably always will. When Luke comes home, Michael will spend the rest of his life making it up to him.

“Mike” a voice drew Michael from his thoughts.

“Hey, Cal” he said, quietly without looking up

“Hey” Calum replied “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay, you?” 

“I’m good” Calum answered “What are you doing this afternoon?”

“Nothing” Michael replied

“Want to catch a movie or something?” Calum asked “It’s been ages since we had fun”

Michael looked up at Calum at that point, the anger rising in his chest.

“Fun” he snapped “Why should we be having fun when Luke’s probably is being tortured or he’s already dead?”

“Stop it” Calum said, voice rising “Luke’s not dead. Stop feeling sorry for yourself”

“He could be” Michael shouted back. Everyone in the room had turned to look at them.

The whole school had learned about Luke’s disappearance pretty quickly. The news spread like wildfire. Everyone, including the teachers, gave both Michael and Calum, increasingly pitying looks as the days went by. They all knew the odds. The longer it took Luke to come home, the more likely it would be that he wouldn’t.

“But he’s not” Calum shouted back “Just stop saying it. We can’t do anything more than we have been”

“We need to face the truth” Michael said “That’s why no one’s seen him. He’s dead”

“No, you don’t know that” Calum said “You don’t know that. We have to have faith”

“Faith” Michael scoffed “No such thing. If he’s not dead, then he’s being put through hell and that could be worse”

Calum had enough. He couldn’t deal with this; he wanted Michael to stop blaming himself. He wanted Michael to let it go. They will find Luke and he will be alive and then everything will go back to the way it was. 

“Stop it” Calum shouted again “You are not to blame and Luke will come home”

All eyes in the room were still on the two boys as they screamed at each other. 

Calum ran his hands through his hair in frustration. 

“I’m done” Calum said “You need to get over yourself”

“What!?” Michael snapped “Are you giving up on Luke?”

“No, I never will do that” Calum said “But I’m done trying to get you to stop blaming yourself. You know you weren’t the only one that lost Luke”

“Luke’s not lost” Michael screamed “He was taken from us”

“Then we will take him back” Calum stated “We will take him back. We will bring him home but we need to live our lives too. Luke would want that”

Calum stepped around the table and engulfed Michael in a tight hug, the other boy just going pliant in Calum’s arms.

“If it’s the last thing we do, we will bring him home” Calum whispered into his ear

“Good” Michael replied, quietly

The boys stood next to the table in the back of the room just hugging each other. One by one, other students around the room walked over and joined them in the hug, until the whole room was just surrounding the boys in the middle. 

Calum pulled slightly away from the other boy and looked into his eyes.

“See, you are not alone in this” Calum said, softly “Together we will bring him home and we won’t rest until we do, okay?”

“Okay” Michael whispered back

“So, will you please stop blaming yourself?” Calum asked “Blaming yourself doesn’t help us and it doesn’t help Luke”

“Okay” Michael said “I’ll stop”

“Good” Calum said “Now about that movie?”

Michael huffed and whispered a ‘fine, if that’s what you want’ as Calum pulled him out of the crowd that was still surrounding them. 

While he had told Calum that he would stop blaming himself but he wasn’t sure he could. He spent a lot of time wondering what Luke was going through. What was Ashton doing to him? Was he okay?

What was Luke going through right now?


	20. Day Ninety Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know about this

“Stop it” Luke shouted. Or as much as he could shout while erupting in fits of giggles 

“Say mercy” Ashton replied

“Mercy, mercy, mercy” Luke chanted through his laughter

Ashton had tackled him as soon as he stepped into the office that morning. Luke thought he’d done something wrong and started to panic and attempt to release himself from Ashton’s grip. 

Ashton just smirked at him and proceeded to tickle him without hesitation. This is why Luke was now begging for mercy and erupting in fits of laughter.

“Okay” Ashton said, as he stopped tickling Luke and started to move himself off him “Suit yourself”

Luke grabbed his arm before he could get to far away and pulled him back down to his previous position. Before Ashton could even protest, Luke pressed his lips to Ashton’s in a chaste kiss. 

When he pulled away, he found Ashton smiling at him.

“Thank you, Lukey” Ashton said, before giving Luke another kiss

Things had most certainly changed between Luke and Ashton in the last two weeks. Ever since Luke had passionately kissed Ashton without a second thought. That night had ended with Ashton dragging Luke into his bedroom where they talked and kissed into the early hours of the morning.

Luke had never been in Ashton’s room before and since then he had spent every night in Ashton’s room, in Ashton’s bed. It never went further than the odd heavy make out session but it was mostly just sweet kisses and talking. Lots of talking. 

Luke had learned that Ashton was the oldest of three but he had never met his father. He was raised by his single mother until his step father came into the picture. Ashton told him that he didn’t like his step father very much, that they clashed from day one and as soon as he could, he moved out on his own. Ashton learned that Luke was the youngest in loving family. He found out that his two older brothers were over protective of him just because he was the baby.

Luke had learned that Ashton had been on his own for the last five years, ever since he was seventeen. He hated being away from his mother and younger siblings but he never once thought about going back.

Luke had learned that Ashton had known he was gay for ‘as long as he could remember’, he had told Luke that he never thought girls were cute or pretty but he does remember thinking that the new boy at his primary school was very pretty. Luke had giggled at that. Ashton had learned that Luke never really thought about it much, that he didn’t really look at girls but boys always caught his attention.

Luke learned that Ashton didn’t really have friends. He had people he’d spend time with occasionally but no one that he really considered a friend. Luke told Ashton that was sad and that he would be his best friend. Ashton had smiled at that. Ashton had learned that Luke had two friends that were his everything, Michael and Calum. They had met at the beginning of high school, Michael not really liking Luke at first but now they were closer than ever. Luke told Ashton that he missed them like crazy but he hoped they would be okay.

Last night, Ashton had finally given him the reason that he had taken Luke. He had told Luke that he’d been smitten with him without even knowing his name, that he felt this pull towards Luke, that he had to make Luke his. Ashton told Luke, how that he had thought he’d never be good enough for Luke with other people around that were much better than him, so that’s why he had taken him, to make Luke see that Ashton was good enough.

Luke had interrupted Ashton at that point with a kiss and quietly told him he had thought Ashton was pretty from the moment he met him. Ashton had giggled at that and Luke immediately told him that he adored his giggle and that he didn’t have to go to such extremes to make Luke notice him. Ashton had frowned at that and tried to explain that in his head, it wasn’t an extreme but a necessity. 

Ashton had told Luke that in the beginning, he had just wanted Luke to be his and he didn’t care what he had to do to make that happen. But that slowly over the last few months, he had realised that this was a stupid and heartless way to go about it. He told Luke that every time after he hurt Luke he would retreat to his room and scold himself for being so selfish. That he hated what he did but he couldn’t stop himself in those moments and he apologised. A sincere and soft, ‘I’m really sorry, Luke’. 

Luke didn’t know how to respond to that so he just leaned up and kissed him softly before he whispered ‘I forgive you’. 

That was the end of last night; Luke had slowly fallen asleep to the rhythmic beating of Ashton’s heart underneath his head as he lay cuddled on his chest. His last thought being ‘I could get used to this’ before he closed his eyes.

Luke had woken up without Ashton next to him, so immediately went in search of him and found him in his office. Before he could even say a ‘good morning’, Ashton had attacked him by tickling every bit of skin he could reach and Luke was so ticklish.

After Luke pleaded mercy and gave Ashton his morning kiss, he left him in his office and headed toward the kitchen, hunting for something for breakfast.

Waiting for his bread to toast, Luke began to wonder how he ended up here. He’s not stupid; he knows how he got here but instead wonders if any choices he made in the past would have taken him down a different path. 

He was still so confused but not for the reasons he used to be. Now he’s confused because there’s this part of him that doesn’t want to go home. He's aware that this is a complete 180 from how he was feeling less than three weeks ago. He’s reeling from how he doesn’t really feel guilty about that. He knows that his family miss him, he misses them too, he knows it must be hard for them not knowing what’s happened to him but he can’t help but feel that he belongs here now. He can’t go home. He thinks he is home.

The guilt doesn’t go away though, despite what he tells himself, so an idea pops into his head as his toast pops up. 

He slowly approaches the office, spotting Ashton at his desk, where he almost always is, Luke clears his throat. Ashton whips his head around and smiles fondly at Luke, and then it slips into a frown when he sees the look on Luke’s face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Ashton asks, concerned

Luke shyly smiles at the thought that Ashton’s concerned about him. He clears his throat again. He’s really not sure how to ask this but he knows he has to so he breathes in deeply.

“Can I call my parents?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it


	21. Day One Hundred And Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long for an update. I got stuck.

Luke opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the lack of light. He stretched his neck, sighing heavily as he began to get himself up out of the bed.

It’s been close to two weeks since Luke had asked Ashton if he could call his parents. Ashton had stared him down, with a frown on his face before he sternly said no. Luke still flinches at the memory.

(Flashback)

“Can I call my parents?” Luke asked

Ashton said nothing as his concern look faded and gave way to a look that Luke could only describe as angry. He kneeled down in front of him.

“Please don’t get mad” Luke pleaded “I just want to let them know I’m okay, that I’m happy”

Ashton said nothing, just continued staring at Luke with that look in his eye. The same look that Luke had gotten to know really well in the early days. The same look that told Luke he was in trouble.

“Please, Ashton” Luke tried again “I just need to let them know I’m okay”

Ashton looked away from Luke and breathed in deeply before turning his face back to Luke.

“No” Ashton said, sternly, voice hard.

Luke flinched at the harshness in his voice and stood up. He turned away, getting ready to sulk back to his room for a little while. Ashton grabbed his arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ashton asked, his tone dripping with anger “I didn’t say you could leave”

“Ashton” Luke said, timidly “I’m sorry I asked”

“Are you?” Ashton questioned

Before Luke could answer, Ashton tightened his grip on Luke’s arm and pulled. Luke stumbled forward a bit but managed to stop himself from falling flat on his face. Ashton tightened his grip even more, so tight that Luke was sure he was cutting off the circulation but he said nothing. Luke whimpered a bit when Ashton stood up, hand still tight around his arm and pulled him towards the door. 

Luke started to panic. Was this going to be like the first time he dragged Luke through the house by his hair? Ashton made no move to let go or even loosen his grip on Luke’s arm, just continued pulling him, Luke stumbling as he tried to keep up, managing at least to stay on his feet this time. Luke still said nothing.

Luke said nothing as Ashton shoved him into his room and locked the door behind him. Luke collapsed on the floor as Ashton had let go of his now burning arm. He watched the door with tears in his eyes, willing Ashton to come back. 

He never did.

(End)

Now things were back to the way they were before he’d kissed Ashton. Ashton kept him locked in the room, only bringing him food and never saying a word to him. Luke had tried to get close to him when he’d brought in breakfast the next morning. Ashton had pushed him away and placed the tray in front of him and said nothing. Luke tried the same thing, every time Ashton brought him food. Ashton always responded the same way. Luke had pleaded with him to forgive him, tried to convince that he didn’t mean it. Ashton would just stare at him, a neutral look on his face and still said nothing.

Luke was going to go absolutely insane if Ashton didn’t talk to him today. He couldn’t take it anymore, he wanted things back to the way they were. He’d grown way too close to Ashton to accept the fact that he was back to ignoring him. Luke couldn’t ignore Ashton, so how could Ashton ignore Luke? Luke was determined this morning to change things; he would make Ashton talk to him, no matter what it took. He sat on his bed and waited for Ashton to bring him his breakfast, hands in his lap playing with the hem of his shirt.

He heard a knock on the door, followed by the sound of it opening but Luke didn’t acknowledge it. Ashton stepped into the room, carrying a tray of breakfast and moved to place it on the desk, where he always did. As he finished putting the tray down, Luke bolted for the door. Ashton had no time to react before Luke had reached the door and ran into the hallway, making a beeline for Ashton’s office.

Luke reached the office before Ashton had even stepped out of Luke’s room. Luke was standing in the doorway when Ashton stepped out into the hallway. Luke was a little surprised he hadn’t chased him down, there was no doubt he could’ve. Luke locked eyes with Ashton from down the hall. A grin crossed his face, as he shut the door and Ashton heard the unmistakable click of the door being locked. Luke had locked himself in Ashton’s office.

Ashton sighed heavily and walked slowly towards the door, thinking to himself, he should’ve known Luke would try something. He knew that Luke was on edge about the silent treatment, he himself hated it too.

Ashton knocked on the door lightly.

“Luke, baby” he said “Can you please open the door?”

“No” Luke answered

“Why not?” Ashton asked “I want to talk to you but I won’t talk to you through a door”

“Why do you want to talk to me now?” Luke snapped back “You’ve not said a word to me for two weeks”

Ashton sighed. He hadn’t known what to say to Luke when he asked to call his parents, so he’d just said no. Wasn’t Ashton enough for him anymore? Now that Ashton had opened up to him about his family, his life, about everything, Luke didn’t want to know him anymore. That’s what it felt like.

“I’m sorry” Ashton said after a while “I went about the situation all wrong”

Luke could count on one hand the number of times Ashton had apologised to him over the months that he’d been with him. Luke closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and reached for the door and without too much more thought, unlocked it. He’d achieved what he set out to do, Ashton was talking to him.

Ashton smiled when he heard the door unlock. He waited a few seconds on the other side and pushed it opened.

“Hi, Lukey” he said as he closed the door behind him “I’m sorry I ignored you, treated you like you mean nothing when you mean everything to me”

“Why’d you do it then?” Luke asked “It hurt”

“I know it hurt you, it hurt me too” replied Ashton, softly “I don’t know why I did it. Do you still want to be with me?”

Luke looked at Ashton like he’d grown two heads. He stepped closer and reached out for him.

“Why would you think that I don’t?” Luke asked “You’re the one that stopped talking to me. Do you still want to be with me?”

“Yes, of course I do” Ashton said, firmly 

“Because you wanted to call your parents” Ashton stuttered after a moment of silence “I thought maybe you didn’t want to be here anymore”

Luke stepped closer again and pulled Ashton into a tight hug, whispering in his ear.

“I just wanted to tell them that I’m happy here, that I want to stay” Luke whispered “So they can move on from looking for me. I want them to be as happy as I am. They deserve that”

Ashton tilted his head up and placed a small kiss on Luke’s lips.

“Did you still want to call them?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Hope you liked it :-)


	22. Day One Hundred And Eleven

Luke sat on the couch in Ashton’s office, tapping his fingers nervously on his knee that wouldn’t stop shaking. He was waiting for Ashton to finish what he was working on and then he would call his parents. 

After Ashton had asked him if he still wanted to call them, he’d nodded yes but told him it could wait one more day. He’d woken up alone in Ashton’s room and made his way to his office, like it had become routine. Ashton had told him that he just had to finish something and then they would call the Hemmings’ house. Luke had agreed to that.

Luke’s thoughts began to wonder. ‘What would he say to them?’, ‘What would they say to him?’ and ‘Will they sound the same?’ played on a loop inside his head. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. When he opened his eyes, just a second later, Ashton was kneeling in front of him, a small smile on his face.

“Are you ready, baby?” he asked, voice soft.  
“Yeah, I think so” Luke answered “I just don’t know what I’m going to say to them to make them understand”  
“It’ll come to you. It’ll all be okay, baby, I promise” Ashton replied “Just tell them the truth”  
“What if they hate me for wanting to stay?” Luke asked, timidly  
“They won’t hate you, baby” Ashton said “They might be angry, they won’t understand but they could never hate you”  
“Are you sure you’re ready to do this now?” Ashton asked, concern gracing his features.  
“Yeah” Luke nodded

Ashton stood up and moved to grab the phone. He placed it on the table in front of Luke and sat down next to him, taking his hand in his own and entwining their fingers. He squeezed Luke’s hand and nodded towards the phone. Luke picked it up, hand shaking as he brought it closer to him. This would be the first time he’d heard in mother’s voice in over three months.

Luke was nervous as he slowly dialled the number. He gulped loudly as it began ringing; bringing it up to his ear and Ashton squeezed his hand again. He didn’t want Ashton to let go, so he squeezed his hand back. He squeezed Ashton’s hand harder when he heard the ringing stop and someone pick up.

“Hello” the voice on the other line said quietly.

Luke felt his eyes tear up and his heart beat faster. It was his mom. He took a deep breath in.

“Hi, Mom” he said, quietly “It’s Luke”

A sharp breath on the line and then full on sobbing. Luke winced at hearing his mom crying because of him. He took another deep breath in but before he could say another word, he was cut off by another voice.

“Luke?” his fathers’ voice said questionly “Is that really you, Lewi?”  
“Y..Y..Yeah it’s me, Dad” he stuttered, trying to keep his voice clear “Please don’t cry, mom”  
“Oh my baby” his mom cried “Are you okay? Has he hurt you? Where are you?”

His mother rattled off question after question, not really giving Luke a chance to respond to any of them. 

“Mom, please slow down, yeah” he said, a smile crossing his face “I can tell you if you give me a chance to say something”  
“Lewi, please just tell us you’re okay” his dad interjected.  
“Yeah, Dad, I’m okay” he said, turning his head to look at Ashton “I’m better than okay”  
“Has he hurt you?” his mom asked “I’ll kill him”

Luke let out a small giggle at that. His mother is a small woman, Luke already taller than her by a good foot and half and he was only 16. Ashton was all lean muscle and stronger than anybody he’s ever met. He was sure that Ashton could take her but Ashton would never to do that. 

“No, mom, he hasn’t hurt me” Luke replied, still smiling at Ashton “I’m fine, okay, I’m all good”  
Luke could hear some rustling in the background and his dad whispering to someone. 

“Luke?” another male voice asked, sounding slightly unconvinced   
“Hi, Jack” Luke answered “How are you doing?”  
“Oh my god, it’s really you” Jack said, shocked “It’s been a while, little brother”  
“Hey, I’m taller than you” Luke said, playfully.

He felt better about this phone call now. He wasn’t nervous anymore. His parents and brother were happy to hear from him. He wondered how happy they’d be when he told them the reason he was calling.

“Oh really” Jack said, interrupting his thoughts “I could still take you”  
“Oh, I’m sure you could” Luke laughed “Can you put Mom and Dad back on again, I need to tell them something”   
“Sure thing, little brother” Jack said “Hey, Luke it’s really good to hear your voice”

Luke could hear rustling as the phone was passed back to his Mom and Dad. He felt the cushion move underneath him and turned to Ashton. Ashton was starting to stand up, still holding onto Luke’s hand, so Luke pulled him back down. He leant over and whispered ‘I need you to stay’ in his ear. Ashton gave him a small smile and nodded, moving back to where he was before.

“Luke?” his mom asked “Where are you?”  
“I can’t tell you that, Mom” Luke replied “I’m not entirely sure where I am but I need to say something to both of you. I need you to listen and not say anything till I’m finished, okay?”  
“Okay” his parents said in unison.

Luke took a deep breath in and began to talk.

“I’m okay and I’ve been okay this whole time. I’m not scared, Ashton doesn’t scare me” Luke said “I just wanted to call and tell you that. To tell you that I’m not coming home, this is my home now. Ashton has been very good to me, he’s kind, sweet and everything I could’ve asked for. You’d like him. I’m calling to tell you that I’m staying with him because I’m in love with him. Do you understand that?”

Luke waited, holding his breath, for his parents to speak and that’s definitely what they did.

“Are you serious?” his Dad, voice slightly raised “We’ve been worried sick, your mother hasn’t slept in over three months and this is what you say to us the first time we hear from you”  
“Dad, I’m sorry” Luke said “It’s the way I feel”  
“You can’t be in love with him” his Mom said, disbelief in her voice “He kidnapped you, Luke, you’re not thinking straight”  
“I have never been clearer about anything in my entire life” Luke said, firmly “I am in love with him, Mom, I really am”  
“No” his Mom said, almost shouting “You are not. You are not staying with him. We will find out where you are and bring you home”  
“Mom, I’m sorry” Luke said “But I am home with Ashton and I’m staying”   
“No. You’re not staying with him” his Mom said “You are coming home and you are not staying with that….that monster”

Luke flinched at his mother’s words. He couldn’t blame them. They don’t know Ashton like he does. No one knows Ashton like he does. His chest bubbled up with something like anger at his mother’s last words. Ashton is not a monster.

“He’s not a monster” Luke said, voice cracking “You don’t know him like I do”  
“We don’t want to know him at all” his Dad said, so much venom lining his voice “We are bringing you home”  
“You’re not listening to me” Luke said “I’m staying here. I’m sorry but I have to stay here. I need Ashton”  
“Lewi, listen to us” his Dad said, calmly “It’s just the circumstances you are in. You’ll be clearer when we get you away from him. When you are back home, this will all be just a nightmare. We love you and we want you home”  
“I love you both too” Luke said, calming himself down too “But I love Ashton too and I want to stay with him, so I am.  
“Luke…” they both started but Luke interrupted them  
“I was just calling to tell you that” he continued “I love you both and maybe I’ll call again one day but I have to go now. It was nice to hear your voices. I love you. Goodbye”

Luke didn’t wait for a response before he hung up the phone. He threw the phone across the room and turned towards Ashton. Sobbing into Ashton’s chest, as Ashton ran his hands up and down his back, comforting him.

“Baby, it’s okay” he said, softly “They’ll come around, you just need to give them time. They don’t hate you, they just don’t understand”  
“I know” Luke croaked “It just hurt, that’s all. They wouldn’t listen and I hate the way this makes me feel. They’re my family and I miss them like crazy but I want to stay, why can’t they accept that?”  
“They will” Ashton replied “You just have to give them time. Wanna go watch a movie?”  
Luke nodded, wiping the last of his tears from his eyes. Ashton stood up and pulled Luke up with him, gently.

“Ash…” Luke said quietly “I love you”  
“I love you, too, baby”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Hope you liked it. :-)


	23. The Other Side Of Things - Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hemmings view of the phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Luke's family's side of the phone call.

Liz Hemmings stared out her kitchen window, halfway through washing the dishes. She stared at nothing, just into the distance as the thoughts in her head ran rampant. Her ‘baby boy’ had been missing for over three months and no one had any clue where he was. She didn’t really sleep anymore, too scared to close her eyes because what if Luke came home and there was no one to welcome him. Her heart ached and she just wanted her son home.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the phone ringing. She put down the sponge and walked over to the phone, picking it up.

“Hello” she said quietly

There was a pause on the other end and she could hear someone breathing

“Hi, Mom” the voice on the other end said quietly “It’s Luke”

Liz took a sharp breath in. It can’t be, can it? Liz felt so overwhelmed in the moment that all she could do was cry, sobbing into the phone. 

Andy came into the kitchen and took one look at his wife, who was still sobbing. Liz managed to say ‘It’s Luke’. Andy took the phone from his wife.

“Luke?” Andy questioned “Is that really you, Lewi?”

Liz took a short moment to compose herself as much as she possibly could and motioned for Andy to share the phone between them.

“Y..Y..Yeah it’s me, Dad” Luke stuttered, clearly trying to keep his voice from cracking “Please don’t cry, mom”

“Oh my baby” Liz cried “Are you okay? Has he hurt you? Where are you?”

Liz rattled off question after question, not really giving Luke a chance to respond to any of them. She was just so happy to finally hear her son’s voice.

“Mom, please slow down, yeah” Luke said “I can tell you if you give me a chance to say something”

“Lewi, please just tell us you’re okay” Andy interjected.

“Yeah, Dad, I’m okay” Luke said “I’m better than okay”

Andy thought that he could almost picture Luke smiling when he said that.

“Has he hurt you?” Liz asked “I’ll kill him”

Andy heard Luke let out a small giggle at that. He smiled to himself, ‘that’s my boy’.

“No, mom, he hasn’t hurt me” Luke replied, “I’m fine, okay, I’m all good”

Jack had walked into the kitchen and was curious as to why both his parents were crowding around the phone. Andy stepped away and whispered to him that it was Luke. 

Jack’s jaw dropped. It can’t be Luke. They haven’t heard anything about him in over three months. Anger started to rise in his chest as he began to think that someone was playing a cruel joke on his family.

He snatched the phone from his mothers’ hands, with a little protest from Liz.

“Luke?” Jack asked, sounding slightly unconvinced and ready to give them a talking to.

“Hi, Jack” Luke answered “How are you doing?”

That was Luke’s voice. He knew his little brother’s voice and this was definitely him. It was such a shock that Jack had no idea what to say, so he said the first thing that popped in his head.

“Oh my god, it’s really you” Jack said, shocked “It’s been a while, little brother”

“Hey, I’m taller than you” Luke said, playfully.

“Oh really” Jack said “I could still take you”

“Oh, I’m sure you could” Luke laughed “Can you put Mom and Dad back on again, I need to tell them something” 

“Sure thing, little brother” Jack said “Hey, Luke it’s really good to hear your voice”

Jack did as Luke asked and passed the phone back to his Mom and Dad. Liz practically snatched the phone back from Jack’s hands, eager to hear where she could find her son and eager to bring him home.

“Luke?” Liz asked “Where are you?”

“I can’t tell you that, Mom” Luke replied “I’m not entirely sure where I am but I need to say something to both of you. I need you to listen and not say anything till I’m finished, okay?”

“Okay” Andy and Liz said in unison, raising their eyebrows at each other. Confused as to what their son would tell them.

“I’m okay and I’ve been okay this whole time. I’m not scared, Ashton doesn’t scare me” Luke said “I just wanted to call and tell you that. To tell you that I’m not coming home, this is my home now. Ashton has been very good to me, he’s kind, sweet and everything I could’ve asked for. You’d like him. I’m calling to tell you that I’m staying with him because I’m in love with him. Do you understand that?”

There was a slight pause and Andy took that as Luke had finished speaking. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. His son wanted to stay with the man that had kidnapped him. Was he crazy?

“Are you serious?” Andy said, voice slightly raised “We’ve been worried sick, your mother hasn’t slept in over three months and this is what you say to us the first time we hear from you”

“Dad, I’m sorry” Luke said “It’s the way I feel”

“You can’t be in love with him” Liz said, in disbelief “He kidnapped you, Luke, you’re not thinking straight”

“I have never been clearer about anything in my entire life” Luke said, firmly “I am in love with him, Mom, I really am”

“No” Liz said, almost shouting “You are not. You are not staying with him. We will find out where you are and bring you home”

Liz couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Luke wasn’t in love with him. You don’t fall in love with someone who kidnapped you. Her baby boy didn’t want to come home.  
“Mom, I’m sorry” Luke said “But I am home with Ashton and I’m staying” 

“No. You’re not staying with him” Liz said “You are coming home and you are not staying with that….that monster”

There was another slight pause and just as Andy was about to say something else, Luke interjected.

“He’s not a monster” Luke said, voice cracking “You don’t know him like I do”

“We don’t want to know him at all” Andy said, so much venom lining his voice “We are bringing you home”

Andy hated this Ashton. He’d never met the man and he never wanted to. He’d kidnapped his youngest son, his ‘Lewi’. He was angry that Luke would chose him over his family but Luke wasn’t thinking clearly despite the fact he thinks he is.

“You’re not listening to me” Luke said “I’m staying here. I’m sorry but I have to stay here. I need Ashton”

“Lewi, listen to us” Andy said, calming down a little “It’s just the circumstances you are in. You’ll be clearer when we get you away from him. When you are back home, this will all be just a nightmare. We love you and we want you home”

“I love you both too” Luke said “But I love Ashton too and I want to stay with him, so I am"

“Luke…” they both started but Luke interrupted them

“I was just calling to tell you that” he continued “I love you both and maybe I’ll call again one day but I have to go now. It was nice to hear your voices. I love you. Goodbye”

Liz screamed ‘No’ into the phone as Luke hung up. Barely able to contain it anymore, she fell to the ground as the realisation set in that her son didn’t want to come home. 

Andy calmly placed the phone back and pulled Liz up to him and hugged her tight. This wasn’t happening. Luke was not staying with that monster, Andy was going to bring him home, no matter what. Luke belonged with his family. 

“I’m going to call the police” Andy said “They can trace the call and we will bring Luke home”

“He will be coming home, Liz, I promise you that”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% happy with this, it's about 98%.
> 
> Hope you enjoy reading it and let me know what you think.
> 
> :-)


	24. Day One Hundred And Twenty Four

Luke woke up to Ashton poking his cheek softly. He smiled as he opened his eyes and leaned up and gave Ashton a peck on the lips.

“Morning, baby” Ashton said, smiling brightly “Did you sleep well?”

“Morning, Ash” Luke replied “Yeah, very well. But why are you poking me?

Ashton’s smile dropped.

“I have to go away for a few days again” Ashton said, looking down. He hated leaving Luke alone.

“Oh” Luke said, frowning “How long will you be gone? When do you leave?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow morning” Ashton answered “And if all goes well, should be back in two days”

“And if it doesn’t go well?” Luke asked, timidly

“All depends on how many problems there are to be fixed, it could be simple or it could be complicated” Ashton said “No more than a week. It’s a big job but it’ll pay really well which means I won’t have to go away for a long time after”

“A week” Luke exclaimed “I can’t be alone for a week”

“I know, I don’t want you to be alone at all” Ashton said sadly “I hate leaving you but I have to in order for us to survive”

“I know” Luke said, leaning onto Ashton’s shoulder “I hate it too”

Ashton nudged Luke off his shoulder and smiled as he stared into the beautiful blue eyes that he’d fallen in love with.

“I got you something” Ashton said, still smiling “Maybe it’ll help” 

Ashton got off the bed and walked out of the room before Luke even had a chance to question him. He wondered briefly if he was supposed to follow him before Ashton returned to the room, holding a small bundle of fluff in his arms. 

“I picked her up this morning” Ashton said, as Luke just stared at what he now knew was a small puppy “Rescued her from the pound”

“OMG!?” Luke whispered, not wanting to scare the puppy that was still in Ashton’s arms. 

Luke made grabby hands for the puppy, at which Ashton giggled and handed him the small puppy.

“Her names’ Koda” Ashton said, placing the pup in Luke’s arms “Have no idea what type of dog she is, but felt an instant need to give her a home”

“She’s beautiful” Luke whispered “She’s mine?”

“Yes, thought you might like to have someone else to keep you company” Ashton said.

The puppy wriggled to get out of Luke’s hold, so he let her down on the bed. Koda wriggled around on the soft bed before she looked at Ashton and then at Luke and made a short jump to land in Luke’s lap again. She looked up at Luke and settled down in his lap, just happy to be there. Luke cooed.

“I think she likes you” Ashton said “I have something else to show you”

Luke smiled at him, picked up Koda and put her down on the floor as he got up and took Ashton’s outstretched hand. Koda sat down at the edge of the bed and when Luke started to walk away, she was instantly at his heels. Ashton pulled Luke into his old room, which he hadn’t been in ages, he hadn’t really left Ashton’s side since he called his parents and Ashton had been nothing but loving and caring. 

They hadn’t gone any further than kissing and Ashton had assured Luke that he wasn’t going to push it and that he was willing to wait until Luke was ready. Luke was happy with that. He’d been here long enough to know when Ashton was telling the truth about how he felt; he wasn’t shy about hiding exactly how he felt. 

In the middle of Luke’s room sat a small dog bed, lots of toys and blankets and food and water bowls. Everything any dog could ask for and Luke laughed.

“You went all out” Luke said, walking over to the pile of stuff “Thank you. Thank you Ashton for everything”

Koda stopped at Luke’s heels and looked around the room, she looked over the pile and something instantly caught her eye. She bounced over to the pile and tugged out a small soft bone shaped toy and dragged it back over to Luke. She sat at his feet and started playing with the toy. Luke giggled at her, placing a soft pat on her head.

“I think that might be her favourite” Ashton said “Are you happy?”

“I was happy before” Luke said, turning to look at Ashton “You’ve just made me happier”

Luke leaned in and gave Ashton a soft kiss, while whispering another ‘thank you’. Ashton smiled into the kiss.

Luke spent the rest of the day playing with Koda while Ashton worked. He was happy because of Koda (and Ashton) but sad that Ashton was going to be leaving him even if he was just for a few days. 

He fed Koda in his old room. He played with the hem of his shirt as he let thoughts overrun his mind. He loved Ashton, he knew that, so why was it so hard to give himself completely to him? Was he still harbouring anger over the kidnapping thing? Luke shook his head answering himself silently. No. He got all his anger about that out ages ago. So what was holding him back? Nothing.

He stood up, gave Koda a pat as she settled herself in her bed and before Luke had reached the door, she was asleep. Luke cooed.   
He shut the door behind him before he decided to crack it open a little in case she wanted to find him later if she woke up.

He walked, well marched, down to Ashton’s office where the older man was just hanging up the phone as he walked in. Ashton smiled at him.

“Hey, baby” he said, turning full around to face Luke “How’s Koda?”

“She’s good, she’s sleeping” Luke said, sitting down next to Ashton. “I want to talk to you about something”

“Anything, Lukey” Ashton replied “Are you okay?”

“Ummm no not really” Luke said, shyly “I want to ask you something but I’m not sure how to do it”

“Baby, just ask” Ashton smiled “I’m not going to get angry or offended at you for asking something. Did you want to take Koda outside?”

Luke blinked at him. He hadn’t even thought of that. He’d grown to enjoy just being inside, it had never occurred to him once to ask Ashton to go outside. He knew there was an outside. The windows in the kitchen and Ashton’s office showed him that he had a yard. 

“Umm, yeah but that wasn’t what I was going to ask you” Luke said “That’d be nice for her if I could take her outside, though. I think she’d like that”

“Yeah, I think she will. The backyard is all yours” Ashton replied “I trust you and she will need some outside time. You can go out there tomorrow if you like, I’ll leave the key”

“Thank you” Luke said “That’d be fantastic. Ash, thank you again for getting her for me, she’s beautiful, like you”

Ashton giggled at the whispered way Luke had said ‘like you’ after saying Koda was beautiful. He was so in love with everything about this boy.

“You’re welcome, baby” Ashton said “What did you wanna ask me?”

“Oh” Luke said, softly, taking a deep breath “I wanted to know if you’dhavesexwithme?”

“Umm sorry” Ashton said, confused. Luke had run through that last sentence so fast, he had no idea what he just said “I didn’t get that last part, baby; you’ll have to slow it down”  
Luke took another breath in and tried to steady his words as he spoke, clearly this time.

“Would you like to have sex with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it :-)


	25. Day One Hundred And Twenty Four - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead

If Ashton had of been drinking at that moment, he would have spat it all over Luke. Of all the things that Luke could’ve asked, he asked that. Ashton’s jaw dropped to the floor with his eyes wide. He shook his head and collected his thoughts, as he took a deep breath and looked at Luke. 

“Is that what you wanted to ask me?” Ashton asked, still a little disbelieving.

“Yes” Luke stuttered “I wasn’t sure how to talk to you about it but I’ve been thinking about it”

“Oh” was all Ashton said before getting out of his chair, reaching out his hand to Luke and pulling him towards the bedroom.

Luke pulled away from Ashton as they entered the room. This was what he wanted, he loved Ashton but he was still nervous. Ashton dropped his hand and stepped closer to Luke, reaching a hand up to his cheek, softly running his thumb over it.

“I’m not saying we do it now, Lukey” Ashton said, softly “Whenever you’re ready. I just think maybe we should talk about it”

“I want this but I’m still nervous” Luke said, almost a whisper “Did you want to?”

“Baby, I think I’ve been very clear on that” Ashton smiled “I’ve been waiting for you to be ready but I will wait for as long as it takes”

“Will it hurt?” Luke asked, quietly

“A little at first” Ashton replied “I’m not going to lie to you, it will but then it’ll feel good and I will take care of you”

“I know you will” Luke said quickly “What if you don’t like it with me?”

“I’m happy just to be with you, Lukey” Ashton said “I need you to understand that”

“Okay” Luke said, still in a whisper “How do we start?”

Ashton let out a soft laugh. Luke was just so innocent and beautiful. But Ashton couldn’t say that Luke giving himself Ashton wasn’t the best thing he could have hoped for. This is what Ashton wanted and now this is what Luke wanted, what they both wanted.

Ashton stepped a bit closer to Luke and let his arms wrap around his waist and his head fall into his neck, pressing soft kisses and small, slow licks. Luke softly whimpers and moves his head, giving Ashton more access.

Ashton starts to suck on the skin just above Luke’s collarbone, Luke making small quiet gasps above him. Ashton sucks another mark into the skin as he presses his hands softly against the small of Luke’s back, effectively bringing him a little closer. Ashton lets his hand shift under the back of Luke’s shirt, slowly stroking the skin. After a few moments, Ashton stops stroking and pulls his head up; smiling at the four marks he has left on Luke’s skin and looks up at Luke.

“Are you sure about this, baby?” he asks, softly

“Yeah, I’m sure” Luke stammers through his words, already under Ashton’s spell. 

“Look me in the eye and tell me you’re ready for this, Luke” Ashton demands softly

Luke looks up and straight into Ashton’s stunning hazel eyes and nods slowly.

“I’m ready for this, Ashton” he says, voice as clear as he could make it “I want this, I want you. I’m all yours”

Ashton softly pressed his lips to Luke’s. It was a soft and slow kiss, their lips moving together. When air became a needed thing, Luke pulled away, leaving small pecks against Ashton’s lips, smiling.

Ashton moves both hands to grip softly behind Luke’s thighs, whispers a shy ‘jump’ into Luke’s ear. Ashton holds onto Luke as he does as he was asked and wraps his slender legs around Ashton’s waist, arms tight around his shoulders. Ashton placing small pecks against the skin of his neck as he spins them around and moves towards the bed. Leaning down and placing Luke gently on the edge of the bed so he’s sitting down, looking up through his eyelashes at Ashton. Ashton reaches down to the hem of Luke’s shirt and in one swift movement, tugs it off. Luke’s arms automatically go to cover his now bare torso before Ashton softly places his hands on Luke’s wrists and pulls them away.  
“You don’t have to hide from me, baby” he says as his fingers brush gently over the exposed skin. The touch sending shivers down Luke’s spine. Luke nods, silently saying ‘Okay’.   
Ashton leans down and presses butterfly kisses all over Luke’s pale skin and Luke’s breath hitches at every one. He’d never felt so loved. 

“Are you nervous?” Ashton asks, almost whispering

“Yes” Luke answers just as quietly “I want this”

Ashton continues placing small kisses all over Luke’s chest. Taking one of the younger boy’s nipples into his mouth, Ashton sucks hard, swirling his tongue around the small bud, Luke gasps loudly, not expecting that. Ashton pulls away and quietly giggles as he once again leans down further and places more kisses on Luke’s tummy.

Ashton reaches one hand down to the button of Luke’s pants and pops it open, lowering the zipper and removing Luke’s jeans slowly, giving him plenty of time to stop his movements, leaving him in just his boxers. He looks up and his hazel eyes meet Luke’s bright blue ones. Ashton winks at him, Luke blushes. 

“May I go on?” Ashton asks a still blushing Luke, Luke just nods.

Ashton stands up and takes his own shirt and pants off, both boys now in just their boxers. 

“I’m going to take these off, okay” Ashton said, hands on the band of Luke’s underwear and looking up at him.

“Okay” Luke squeaks, eyes roaming all over Ashton’s bare body. He reaches out a hand and slowly strokes the skin of Ashton’s abs, feeling the muscles flex under his touch.   
Ashton fingers wrap around the waistband and pull the boxers off Luke’s legs. Luke hesitantly goes to cover himself up but stops himself as he looks directly at Ashton who is just staring at him.

“What?” he asks

“You’re beautiful, Luke” Ashton says, whispering.

Luke blushes again, whispers it back to him and pulls him down to kiss him. Ashton smiles into the kiss. He slowly moves himself back to a standing position and removes his own underwear. 

He moves back closer to Luke and reaches his hand down and wraps his long fingers around Luke’s hard on and tugs softly causing Luke to groan and his hips to buck forward. Ashton smirks and continues to stroke Luke slowly while they continue kissing. 

“Just say if you want to stop at anytime, okay?” Ashton says

“Okay” Luke replies, quietly “I trust you, please keep going”

Ashton smiles and falls to his knees in front of Luke, his hand still wrapped around Luke’s cock. He moves his head down and kitten licks at the tip, before he suddenly swallowed Luke almost halfway down and sucked gently. Luke bucking his hips up but not enough to hurt Ashton or anything like that and making soft noises that Ashton would like to hear for the rest of his life. Ashton stopped sucking and came off with a pop, his hand still stroking Luke gently, Luke breathing hard and looking entirely wrecked. Ashton waited for Luke’s breathing to slow down before he took the next step, pushing Luke softly down so he was lying on his back, legs still over the side.

“I’m going to prep you now okay, baby” Ashton said “Just relax. I’ll go slowly and I’ll be careful but it’ll still hurt a bit, okay?”

“Okay” Luke squeaked, his voice quivering. The whole time Ashton was working him over, from the soft kisses to the way he sucked his cock, and Luke knew Ashton was going to take care of him. It was written all over his face and in his movements. He knew Ashton wouldn’t hurt him anymore than was necessary, knew he wouldn’t like doing even that.   
He watched as Ashton lubed up three fingers, with his eyes wide. Ashton saw this and giggled, softly saying ‘I’m not putting them all in at once, Lukey’. Luke closed his eyes, smiling, he knew that. His eyes shot open as Ashton circled the first finger and pushed it slowly in. 

It was painful, Luke wincing as Ashton pushed it further in. Then it became uncomfortable and then slowly he began to enjoy it, pushing himself back on Ashton’s finger to get more. By the time, Ashton was three fingers in, both boys were a wreck. Luke’s skin was flushed bright red and he was almost completely out of breath from the small pants that came from his mouth.

“Okay, I’m ready” Luke panted “Please, Ashton, I need you”

“Okay” Ashton chuckled

Ashton rolled a condom over his length and lubed it up and pushed the tip against Luke’s hole. Luke breathed in and held his breath as Ashton pushed in, very slowly. Ashton stopped when he was all inside Luke, breathing heavily because Luke was just so tight and perfect. 

Luke slightly pushed back onto Ashton after a few moments, the pain still there, he paused and took another deep breath in and waited a bit longer. Ashton slowly leaned further down and pressed soft kisses to the corner of Luke’s mouth, careful not to move too much. Luke pushed back again a few moments later and didn’t wince at the pain. He breathed out a ‘move’ to Ashton, hovering above him and Ashton did as he was told. He pulled almost all the way and thrusted back in. 

Luke loudly moaned, soft little ‘ahs’ leaving his mouth and breathless he encouraged Ashton with every thrust. They continued at a steady pace, Luke was in heaven. His hips move up in time with Ashton’s thrusts and sooner than he like, Ashton’s breathing hitched audibly, Luke’s head was swirling and his hips stuttered as he bucked up into Ashton.

“Ashton” Luke moaned “I think I’m close”

“Me too”

Ashton thrusted in one more time before he was coming and was spilling into the condom inside Luke. His eyes almost rolling into the back of his head, his face painted with a look of ecstasy, Luke following seconds after, streams of white painted his stomach and chest.

Ashton slowly pulled out of Luke, wincing as he did so. Ashton placing kisses to Luke’s face. He picked up his shirt and cleaned Luke and himself up. Ashton help shuffle Luke up the bed and lied down, Luke snuggled into Ashton’s side, both still a bit out of breath; he placed a soft kiss to his forehead.

“How do you feel?” Ashton asked, quietly

“Loved” Luke answered, after a few moments “That was amazing”

Ashton smiled and placed another soft kiss to Luke’s temple.

“I love you, Ashton” Luke whispered, eyes closing as sleep took him over.

“I love you, too, baby” Ashton whispered back.

Ashton closed his eyes, smiling to himself, and thinking he had everything he had ever wanted. Luke was all his.   
And nothing was going to take Luke away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my longest chapter yet. Enjoy!


	26. Day One Hundred And Twenty Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long to update. Hope you enjoy it.

Luke woke up to Ashton placing soft kisses over his shoulders and smiled. When Ashton saw that he was awake, he moved and placed a sweet kiss against Luke’s lips to which Luke responded eagerly.

Ashton chuckled lightly as he moved away, Luke chasing after him. 

“Baby, I have to get up and go” Ashton said, frowning “Although, I really don’t want to”

Luke groaned as he turned over to properly face Ashton.

“You have to work” Luke said “I don’t want you to go either”

Ashton laughed softly and pulled Luke closer to him, an arm wrapped around his waist. 

“I wish I could take you with me” Ashton said, placing a kiss to Luke’s forehead

“Why can’t you?” Luke asked, blue eyes filled with hope

“Lukey, I just can’t and someone has to stay here and look after Koda” Ashton said.

As if she heard someone say her name, Koda came trotting into the room and whined at the bottom of the bed. Luke sat up and winced at the pain in his lower back. 

“Aww baby, are you okay?” Ashton asked, sitting up beside him

“Yeah, I’m good” Luke replied “It just hurts a little but it’s worth it”

Ashton smiled as he placed another kiss to Luke’s forehead and stood up off the bed. Luke’s eyes trailed after him as Ashton stretched and moved across the room. Ashton winked in the mirror when he caught Luke staring, Luke blushed.

Luke got up off the bed slowly and reached down to pick Koda off the ground and cradled the small puppy in his arms as Koda licked his hands and arm. He walked over to Ashton who was getting dressed and kissed him on the cheek and walked out of the room, still carrying Koda, to the kitchen. He placed her on the ground and began moving around the kitchen to prepare her breakfast and breakfast for him and Ashton.

Luke was placing the final piece of toast on Ashton’s plate when he walked into the kitchen and sat down at his place setting. He reached out for Luke’s hand when the blond went to sit down next to him, Koda at his feet.

“Thank you, baby” Ashton said “It looks amazing”

“You’re welcome” Luke replied, softly with a slight blush

As they ate in silence, Luke’s thoughts went into overdrive. ‘What am I going to do without him here now?’ playing over and over in his head. A frown had settled across his features.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Ashton asked, quietly

“Ummm I was just thinking about what happens next?” Luke asked, stuttering a little

“What do you mean?” Ashton asked, shifting a little closer to Luke 

“I mean, now that we’ve had sex, what changes?” Luke asked, blushing when he said ‘sex’

“Nothing has to change, baby” Ashton said, softly “We go as you feel comfortable. I meant it when I said, I’ll wait for you”

“So there will be no pressure to do it again?” Luke asked 

“No, not if you don’t want to” Ashton replied “Did you not like it?”

Luke looked up and into Ashton’s eyes and he didn’t like what he saw. Ashton’s normally bright eyes looked a little dull, he looked hurt.

“It’s not that at all, Ash” Luke quickly answered, taking Ashton’s hand in his own “It was wonderful”

“Then what are you afraid of?” Ashton asked

“I’m just not sure I want it every night….” Luke started before he was cut off by Ashton laughing loudly

After a few moments of Ashton calming himself down, he stretched out his other arm and placed a gentle finger underneath Luke’s chin and pushed him to look at Ashton. 

“Luke, I don’t want it every night either” Ashton said, softly “I love just being with you, I don’t need sex to be with you just because we’ve done it once. I love you”

“Oh, I just thought” Luke stopped “Sorry, I am being stupid”

“Luke, you’re not being stupid” Ashton said “I think the fact that you want to know where we stand is smart”

Luke smiled at Ashton before he leaned forward and placed a sweet kiss to his lips, whispering a shy ‘thank you’ and pulled away. Ashton just smiled at him.

Now, that he knew where they stood, Luke was a lot more relaxed around Ashton. They’d come a long way in what he thought was a short time. Less than five months ago, Luke hated Ashton. Hated what he did to him, to his family, to his friends. Now, Luke was definitely in love. Ashton was his life. He couldn’t imagine any life without Ashton in it. He’d gone from hating him with everything he had to loving him with everything he had. 

Luke stood up from the table, careful not to step on Koda, who was just lying at his feet, and moved over to the sink to start clearing up the dishes. Koda trotted over with him and circled his feet as he moved around. It seemed to be her favourite game to play, ‘try not to get stepped on by my human’, Luke giggled at her. Ashton had moved from his seat and left the room to continue to get ready. He came back into the kitchen to see Luke on his knees and playing tug o’war with Koda and her favourite toy. Koda wasn’t giving up easily despite her small size.

“I don’t think you’re going to win” Ashton said

“Don’t underestimate her” Luke said, still tugging “She’s tough”

“I was talking to you” Ashton giggled

Luke looked up, faking an offended look, as Koda gave an extra hard tug and freed the toy from Luke’s hands. She bolted off out of the room, determined to keep her toy. Ashton laughed as the black and tan puppy ran through his legs.

“I told you” Ashton said in between little huffs of laughter.

Luke stood up and crossed his arms over his chest and huffed out a ‘meanie’. Ashton stretched out his arms and beckoned Luke to come over. He did as he was told and moved forward to Ashton and once he reached him, he was engulfed in a tight hug.

“Do you have to go now?” Luke whispered, not letting Ashton go

“Yeah, baby” Ashton replied “I do”

“Oh okay” Luke said “You’ll be back as soon as you can?”

“Of course” Ashton answered “I’m not going to be away from you anymore than I have to be”

Ashton gently pushed Luke away from him and looked him in the eyes, whispered an ‘I promise’ and placed a soft kiss to his lips.  
Luke kissed him back and wrapped his arms around Ashton tighter.

“I have to go, baby” Ashton said, releasing himself from Luke’s grip “I’ll see you soon”

Ashton placed a small kiss to Luke’s forehead and reached down to give a pat to Koda’s head, said ‘take care of him’ to her and walked out, shouting out a ‘bye, baby’.

“Bye, Ash” Luke said “Come back to me”


	27. Day One Hundred And Thirty Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this work. It means more to me than you will ever know.  
> Hope you enjoy the next chapter. :-)

Luke woke up to Koda licking his face. He had taken to bringing her into his room at night for the extra company instead of leaving her in her room. He giggled as Koda licked his nose.

“Morning, Koda” he said, softly petting her head “Ashton is coming home today. We should look nice for him”

Koda responded by wagging her tail before jumping from the bed and heading towards the door. Luke stretched his limbs before climbing out of bed and opening the door, which Koda immediately bolted through. Luke laughed.

He made his way to the kitchen where Koda was waiting for him to give her breakfast, sitting patiently at her bowl, looking up at Luke. He giggled to himself and poured some biscuits in her bowl, petted her head and said ‘there you go’, Koda gobbled them up.

Luke poured himself some orange juice and made some toast. He was sitting down eating it as Koda circled his legs and tugged on the hem of his pyjama pants.

“Ashton’s coming home today” he said again.

Koda looked up at him, wagging her tail and barked at him. He reached down and petted her again; he told ‘yeah it is great’ and finished his breakfast.

He checked the cupboards and fridge to make sure there was plenty for Ashton to choose from if he was hungry when he got home. Ashton hadn’t hurt him in a really long time but the thought sometimes crept into his head, usually late at night, especially when Ashton was away, ‘What if he did’. Luke was going to make sure that he didn’t have a reason to.

He walked through the house, checking to make sure it was clean and tidy. Considering in the week that Ashton had been gone, Luke had rarely ventured away from the office. He spent most of his time in that room, reading most of Ashton’s books. He’d sleep in his room because Ashton’s made him sad. He’d spent some time outside but mostly because he couldn’t keep Koda inside all the time. She was a puppy and she needed the outside world. All Luke needed was Ashton.

Ashton had called last night and told him that he was coming home the next day but he had to leave again in two days time, the job was taking longer than he originally thought. Luke had been determined that he would make it the best two days of Ashton’s life. Of course, he had no idea how he would do this.

He’d already given Ashton every piece of himself; he had nothing that didn’t already belong to Ashton, including his heart. He couldn’t go out and buy him a present, one, he had no money, two, he had no idea where he was and three; he had no idea what he would even get him. Ashton had told him months ago that he had all that he needed.

He could make him something, like bake him a cake, he had everything he needed to do that. A cake didn’t seem that great though. He did know that Ashton would love it because Luke made it for him but that wasn’t enough.

Ashton had given him so much over the last few months. He’d never felt like he belonged until he met Ashton. He belonged to Ashton. That thought made him smile to himself.

He decided that he would bake Ashton the cake and make him a welcome home sign. Hopefully that would be enough to show Ashton how much he meant to Luke.

Luke walked back towards kitchen, checking in on Koda who was in her room, playing happily with her toys. He told her he was going to bake a cake for Ashton. She had just looked at him for a moment and then went back to playing with her toys. Luke smiled.

He pulled out all the ingredients and started to make Ashton’s cake.

A couple of hours later, the chocolate cake was baked, iced and ready for Ashton to enjoy. The kitchen was cleaned and dishes put away. Now all Luke needed was Ashton. He still had a bit of time to wait; Ashton said he wouldn’t be home until after lunch.

He checked in on Koda, who must’ve been exhausted from all the playing she’d been doing all morning, as she snoring softly in her bed in the corner. Luke smiled and quietly went about tidying up all her toys, which were spread across the whole room.

When he was finished, he went to the office, pulled a book off the shelf and got comfortable in Ashton’s favourite chair. Luke soon found himself dozing off.

Luke was startled awake by a distant growling. He stood up and walked towards the sound. He found Koda growling at the front door. He approached her slowly and kneeling down behind her.

“Koda” he said softly, he didn’t want to startle her “What’s wrong?”

Koda just continued growling. Luke couldn’t hear anything, so he went to move Koda away from the door; she barked and refused to budge, planting herself as forcefully as she could between Luke and the door.

“Koda, sweetie, there is nothing there” Luke said “Come on, come and keep playing”

Koda stayed still. Luke went to move in front of her and she barked at him, trying to nudge him back but considering how small she was, didn’t do much. It was almost as if she was telling him to ‘get back’.

Koda continued barking at him, so he moved back behind her and she stopped, turning her attention back to the door.

Luke was starting to worry now. What was she growling at? What did she feel the need to protect Luke from? He stood still, trying to hear what she could but still he heard nothing.

Luke had decided he was going to call Ashton and found out what he should do. At the very least, Ashton would be able to calm him down. He needed Ashton. Just as he turned around, a noise made him freeze.

A loud bang on the door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.


	28. Day One Hundred And Thirty Two - Part 2

Luke stood frozen to the spot, barely even breathing. He stared at the door but no sound followed the bang. He took a quiet deep breath in and out. As he went to slowly turn around again, another loud bang hit the door, slightly rattling it on its hinges.

Luke opened his mouth to scream but only a small squeak came out and Koda was still growling and barking at the door. Luke almost stopped breathing as he bent down to pick Koda up but as he reached her, the doorknob jiggled furiously. 

He watched in silence as the doorknob was jiggled again and suddenly the door swung open, catching him completely off guard and sending him falling backwards from the shock.

Luke sat frozen on the ground as the man standing in front of him stared at him, Koda still growling at his feet. The strange man took a step forward and Luke sprung into action, picking Koda up in his arms and breaking into a run towards his room. 

He ran towards his room, blood rushing in his ears as panic set it. He barrelled into the room, heading straight for his closet, closing and locking the doors behind him. Who was this guy? Why was he here?

Luke tried to slow his breathing and whispered to Koda ‘that everything was going to be alright’ as he also tried to listen outside the door. He could hear someone calling his name over and over. He saw the shadows at the bottom of the door. He closed his eyes and held his breath.

“Luke” a voice said “It’s okay. I’m here to take you home”

Luke froze. What was he talking about? Luke was home. 

“Luke” the same voice said “I’m not here to hurt you. Come on out”

Luke had slowed his breathing down enough to be able to hear outside the door a bit better. He could hear other voices now; he could hear other footsteps going through the house. Every now and then he heard the voices say ‘clear’. 

What were they looking for? Luke shook his head; he knew what or who they were looking for. Ashton. They were looking for Ashton. How did they find him? Ashton had told him a while ago that they would never find him. He’d cried at first but then slowly he had begun to realise that if they did find him, they would take him away from Ashton and he definitely didn’t want that.

Luke gathered up the courage to shout out from in the closet, not moving from where he was sitting and keeping Koda close to his chest.

“I am home” he shouted “Leave me alone”

The other voices had faded now and he could only hear two voices. One voice was clear, because he thought that the guy was standing just outside the closet door. The other voice clear but sounding further away but still in the room.

He could just make out the conversation

“Is he coming out?”  
“No, I think he’s scared”  
“Understandable. I can only imagine what this monster has done to him”  
“He just told me to leave him alone”  
“Just open the doors and get him out”  
“We don’t want to traumatise him anymore that he already has been”  
“Fair enough. Have you seen the set up here?”  
“No, I’ve been trying to get Luke to come out”  
“It’s pretty creepy, man, he has everything here. There’s no need for him to ever leave the house”  
“But he’s not here. He left Luke alone”  
“Explains why no one ever saw him though, doesn’t it, explains why Luke just seem to vanish without a trace for over four months”  
“But we found him”

Luke stopped listening after that. He knew that he’d been gone for over four months but he didn’t know that they were still looking for him. He’d told his parents not to look for him anymore, that he was going to stay with Ashton. It was the hardest phone call he ever had to make but he belonged with Ashton.

The phone call. They had tracked him down by the phone call he made to his family. This was his fault. They were going to take him away from here, away from Ashton because he had wanted to talk to his parents. They were going to take Ashton away and do god knows what to him. He looked at his watch; Ashton was due home any second now. They were going to catch Ashton and it was all his fault. Tears started to fall down his cheeks as the thought that he’d never see Ashton again took over his mind.

“Luke, we aren’t going to hurt you but we aren’t going to go away either. Just come out”

Luke took a deep breath in, cuddled Koda closer to his chest and shouted

“NO” he yelled “LEAVE ME ALONE”

There was an audible sigh from the other side of the door. Luke could hear the voices get quieter but the words ‘we’ll have to use force’ rang out loud and clear.  
Luke started panicking again. ‘Force, what kind of force?’, ‘they can’t make him leave, can they?’ He wanted to stay here, with Ashton and Koda, his own little happy family. He didn’t need anybody else. He just needed Ashton.

He jumped back as the closet door rattled. 

“Luke, I’m coming in”

Luke had nowhere to go, he shuffled himself further inside the closet, he was hugging the back wall. He saw the door rattle again and then bust open. It was dark in the closet; he could only make out the silhouette of the man that stood in the doorway, light illuminating him from behind. Luke was terrified.

Luke screamed, put Koda on the ground, and tried to make a run for it. He’d managed to duck around the man and back into the bedroom before a strong hand gripped his arm and pulled him back, wrapping an arm around his waist pinning his arms to his side.

“Let me go” he yelled “Let me go, I don’t want to go anywhere”

“Luke, calm down” the man said

“No, let me go, please just let me go, leave me alone” Luke pleaded

Luke struggled as much as he could to try and loosen the man’s grip but he held tight. He could hear Koda barking and growling somewhere in the room. 

Luke was carried from the room, kicking and screaming at them to let him go. Legs were flailing everywhere as his arms were still pinned. He was carried kicking and screaming from the house and outside. The man was still telling him to calm down but Luke was refusing. He wanted them to leave him alone. 

He was forced inside the back of a car, Koda placed inside with him. Luke tried all the doors and windows but the refused to open. He even tried kicking the windows to try and break them but nothing. He stopped then, he wasn’t getting out of this.

Luke cuddled Koda to his chest as the driver’s door was opened and the man from the house hopped in and started the car. He turned to Luke,

“You’re going home, son”

Luke ignored him. He looked back to the house. The house he had spent the last few months in, his home with Ashton. He watched as the house faded from view.

“Goodbye Ashton” he whispered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Was hit with a major writer's block.   
> Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoy it :-)


	29. World Crumbling Down

Ashton’s hands tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. He’d heard the police sirens before he’d seen them, before they had seen him. He’d pulled over; far enough away to blend in but close enough to see what was happening. 

He could see them as they stormed into his home and then he saw them drag Luke out. He was kicking and screaming for them to let him go but it was no use. He saw Koda trying to nip at the ankles of the man that had a hold of Luke, making her own attempt to try and get them to let Luke go. 

He smiled at that, whispering ‘good girl’ under his breath, even though there was no danger of anyone hearing him. 

Ashton stared after the car that had taken the love of his life away, a tear slipping down his cheek. He couldn’t follow, he’d get caught. 

“I’m so sorry, Luke” he whispered and breathed deeply in.

Ashton just sat in his car, silently watching the police search his house for hours.

Elsewhere, Luke was sitting on the floor, in the corner, in a small room, Koda curled up at his feet. She’d exhausted herself trying to protect him from the men who’d literally dragged him here. He smiled down at her, placing a gentle hand on her head, giving her soft pat.

Luke had no idea why he was being treated this way. He hadn’t done anything wrong; he wanted to stay with Ashton. What was so bad about that?  
He rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling and thinking about Ashton. Would he ever see him again? What was he doing right now? Did they catch him? Luke hoped that he hadn’t been caught. 

Luke’s attention was drawn to the door as it opened and in stepped the same man that had dragged him from his home. Koda had woken up at the sound of the door closing and immediately started growling at the man. The man just laughed. He looked at Luke, clearing his throat, he spoke.

“Hi, Luke” he said “My name’s Jake. I’m the police officer that rescued you”  
Luke glared at him.

“You didn’t rescue me” he spat “You kidnapped me”  
“No, Luke. Ashton kidnapped you” he sighed “We rescued you. We saved you from him”  
“I didn’t need saving” Luke said, rolling his eyes “You took me from my home”  
“Luke, listen to me” Jake began before Luke cut him off  
“NO” he shouted “I don’t have to listen to you. I want Ashton”  
Luke picked up Koda and turned his back to Jake as he attempted to reach out to him. He heard Jake sigh again and shuffling. He looked back to see Jake get up and move towards the door. He turned back to Luke.  
“Your family is here”

Luke said nothing and Jake left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Luke frowned and cuddled Koda to his chest. She tilted her head up and licked Luke’s face as tears fell down his cheeks. He was never seeing Ashton again. His family were going to take him back. He started sobbing, his body shaking as the reality of never seeing Ashton again set in. 

The door opened again, Luke didn’t even look up, didn’t stop crying either.

“Luke” a soft voice said “What can I do to help?”

Luke looked up, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and breathing unevenly. He calmed himself down as much as he could as the small brunette woman in front of him, sat down on the floor, concern gracing her features. 

“Take me back to Ashton” he said, voice firm but pleading “I need him”  
“Luke, I can’t do that” she said “My name is Amy; I’m here to help you”  
“I told you how you can help me” he said “Take me back to Ashton”  
“Luke, you don’t understand right now, but you will” she said, softly “Ashton did the wrong thing and when they find him, he will be in a lot of trouble. I can’t take you back to him”

A small smile crossed Luke’s face when he heard that they hadn’t found Ashton yet. He frowned again.

“Take me back to him” he pleaded “Please”

Amy sighed

“You can go home to your family” Amy said “Your mum and dad, your brothers, your friends. Don’t you want to see them?”  
“No, I want Ashton” he said, firmly “I told them I didn’t want to come back to them, my home is with Ashton”  
“Luke, your family miss you” said Amy “They are here and they want to take you home”  
“I don’t want to go home with them” spat Luke “It’s their fault I’m here; they can’t accept that Ashton is my family now. They took me from him. You can’t make me go with them”  
“No, Luke, I can’t make you” Amy said “But you won’t like the other option. If you won’t go home with your family then it’s the hospital where they will keep you under lock and key for your mental distress”

“I’m not crazy” Luke shouted

“Luke, Ashton kidnapped you” Amy said “He took you from your family and friends. He probably hurt you more than once to get you to depend on him. You don’t depend on him because you love him. You don’t love him, you just think you do. He forced that on you”

Luke stood up, still cradling Koda in his arms. 

“YOU don’t know anything” he shouted “YOU don’t know Ashton, you don’t know me, and YOU don’t know us. Ashton loves me and I love him. Why can’t you people understand that?”

Amy scrambled to her feet, flinching at little at the loudness of Luke’s voice. He’d seemed so shy and timid when she first saw him. She saw now that he was stronger than that.

“Luke, listen, he’s not good for you” she said, softly, trying to calm Luke down “Your family will help you get better”

“I’m not crazy” Luke shouted again

Luke moved from the corner to the other side of the room, away from Amy and the lies that she was telling him.

“I need Ashton. I want Ashton” he shouted “And if you can’t bring me back to him, then you need to get out”  
“Luke….” Amy started before Luke cut her off

“GET OUT” he screamed “GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT”

Amy flinched again at Luke’s screaming but did as she was told. She walked to the door and left the room shutting the door behind her and once again leaving Luke alone.  
Luke crumbled to the floor, Koda whining at his feet, as he sobbed, whispering under his breath, ‘Ashton, where are you? He pleaded to whoever was listening to bring him back to Ashton. He wanted to be next to Ashton, he needed him. Ashton kept him safe and warm; he was his home, his world.

And his world had just crumbled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really long delay in updates. Had so much trouble writing this chapter. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and all you comments and Kudos. It means everything to me. :)


	30. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken me so long to update.  
> Life and writer's block has had that effect.  
> So, hope to be better at updates now, ENJOY!!

Luke stared out the window of his bedroom. He’d been sitting here for god knows how long; just staring and the only thoughts in his head were about Ashton. 

He vaguely registered voices coming closer to his room, followed by a three fast knocks.  
“Luke” his mother spoke softly as she opened the door “Honey, it’s time to go”

Luke didn’t respond and sighed heavily, moving from the window. Slow as he could possible, he joined his mother downstairs and 30 minutes later found himself back in the same small room, he’d been to multiple times over the last few weeks, therapy.

He’d fought for weeks not to come because he wasn’t crazy. He just wasn’t. He told his family he really didn’t want to go and that it wasn’t going to make any difference so he wouldn’t talk. No one cared about how he felt, so why should he sit in this room with this woman and talk about his feelings. If they did actually care, they’d give him back to Ashton.

He’d said nothing the first few sessions, just stared at the clock. His therapist, a petite brunette, Dr. Shaw but insisted Luke cal her Mel, didn’t say anything either until the fourth session when she had told Luke that they could continue not talking for as long as he wanted but nothing was going to change and if he wanted to change things, he had to do something about it.

That’s when he decided that he had to find his own way back to Ashton. He had to. It’d been almost two months but Luke still loved him, still missed him like crazy, and wanted to be with him more than anything. 

So he decided to talk. He told Dr. Shaw pretty much everything but he did leave out the part that he’d given Ashton his virginity. He told her that he’d leave him alone for days at a time, only bringing him food. He told her the more he behaved for Ashton, the more Ashton trusted him and let him out of the room.

Luke told her how in the beginning Ashton would hurt him but it didn’t take long before it was nothing but cuddles and kisses. Luke told her how he understands that Ashton did kidnap him, that what he had done was wrong but that didn’t change the fact that Luke loved him.

Luke told her that the day he was rescued was the worst day of his life. That the same people that claimed to love him and care about him, took him away from the one person he loved the most. He cried in that session.

Now, he was back sitting in front of her and as Luke was about to speak, Dr. Shaw interrupted him.  
“Luke” she said, softly “There’s something I need to discuss with you”  
“What?” he asked  
“Well, in our last session, you told me that your family had taken you away from the one person you loved the most” she said “Do you remember that?”  
“Yes” Luke answered, questionly “I remember everything I’ve told you, why did you want to discuss that?”  
“In one of the first sessions you started talking, you told me that he’d hurt you and leave you alone” she replied “Does that sound like he loves you?”  
Luke glared at her.  
“Luke, do you think that you are going to find a way back to him?” she asked, ignoring his glare.  
“Yes” Luke said, through gritted teeth “He’ll find me or I’ll find a way to him. We’ll be reunited”  
“Luke, and I say this as calmly as I can, I don’t think he’s coming to find you” she said, softly “It’s been months and if he’s smart as you say he is, then he should have found you by now”  
“Why are you trying to turn me against him?” he raised his voice slightly “You’re supposed to be helping me?”  
“I’m trying to help you, Luke” she said, flinching at his louder voice “I’m trying to get you see that Ashton’s not coming for you. He doesn’t love you; you don’t cause pain for the ones you love”  
“You don’t understand” Luke, almost screaming “None of you understand”  
“Luke, I am only trying to help you” she said, calmly “Trying to get you to see that he’s not coming for you, you have to move in because I’m sorry but Ashton has appeared to move on”  
“Do you know him? Have you spoken to him?” asked Luke “No, you don’t. How would you know what he’s thinking?”  
“Luke….” She started but Luke interrupted.  
“NO” Luke shouted “I will find my way back to him and he’ll welcome me with open arms, he loves me, I know he does. I’m done”  
“Luke….”  
“No, we are done” Luke shouted “This isn’t working for me anymore. I’m leaving”  
Luke stood up and quickly made his way to the door, hand on the handle before he turned backed to Dr. Shaw.  
“You didn’t listen” he said, quietly “You all believe Ashton is a bad guy and he’s not. He’s just not. I know what he did was wrong but that doesn’t make him a bad person. He’s a good person that made a bad choice”

Luke sighed and left the room. He walked out to his mother, who was waiting for him and told her that he was done.  
“Luke, you still have 20 minutes left” his mother said, questionly “Why are we leaving?”  
“Because I’m done” Luke snapped “If you really loved me or cared at all, you’d accept that I don’t want to come here anymore. There’s nothing wrong with me. Can we go please?”  
Liz looked at her son, pleading with her not to bring him back and something snapped. Of course she loved Luke, he was her baby boy. So, despite the fact that Andrew would be angry, she nodded her head.  
“Of course, honey” Liz said “And if you don’t want to come back, then you don’t have to”  
Luke hugged her and whispered ‘thank you’ before he stepped away from her and made his way to the car.

Luke could hear his parents arguing downstairs. They were arguing about him, his mum said he didn’t have to go to therapy anymore while his dad argued that it was the best idea for him.  
“Lewi, can you come down here for a minute” his dad shouted up the stairs “We need to talk”  
Luke gulped but made his way downstairs anyway. Was his Dad really going to force him to go to therapy? He stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at his father.  
“Yes, Dad?” he asked, timidly  
“You really don’t want to go to therapy anymore, do you?” Andrew asked “Why?”  
“No, I don’t” Luke replied “Because it’s not changing anything. I still feel the same and no one wants to hear about Ashton”  
“Please, don’t say his name” Liz said, harshly “I don’t want to hear his name”  
“Mum, Dad, whether you hear his name or not, doesn’t change anything” Luke said “He still happened to me, I still love him and I’ll always love him, no amount of therapy will change that”  
“Lewi, we just want you to be safe and happy” his Dad replied “Tell us what we can do to help you, if we can do anything to help you, apart from giving you back to him, because that’s never going to happen”  
“I know that” Luke answered “I want to go back to school, get back to my life, maybe that’ll help”  
His parents looked at each other. When he first came home, they didn’t want to send him back to school, wanting to protect him. Then he didn’t want to go back, instead telling them it was pointless because Ashton was going to come for him.   
“Okay, Luke” said Liz “You should go back to school; it’ll be good for you, if that’s what you really want?”  
“It is” Luke said, confidently  
“We’ll go in on Monday and talk to the school” Andrew said “Deal?”  
“Yes” Luke answered.

His parents dismissed him back to his room. For the first time, in a while, Luke was starting to feel normal and this was only a conversation. Maybe the school wouldn’t let him back. Who knows? But if he was to find his way back to Ashton, he can’t lock himself away in his room; he needed to be out there. 

He needed to find his way back to Ashton, no matter what it took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this and stuck with it  
> despite my lack of updating (sorry :( )  
> Hope you enjoyed it!!!


	31. Ashton

Ashton stared at the television screen; he was watching the news segment he recorded just days after Luke was taken from him. He had paused it at the moment, Luke appeared on screen, the caption running along the bottom of the screen read ‘Missing boy found and returning home’, and just stared.

Ashton stared at the screen until Luke became a blur, his eyes watering at the fact this is the closest he’s come to seeing Luke in months. He was miserable without Luke but he had no one to blame but himself. He shouldn’t have kidnapped the boy but he wasn’t thinking clearly. He never thought clearly when it came to Luke, his mind a constant buzz of lukelukeluke since the day he met him. 

He sat on the bed of his latest hotel room, he had moved from place to place since Luke was taken from him, in hope of avoiding being caught. So far he’d been lucky. He pressed play and on the screen popped up a sketch of him, the same sketch they had used to find him after he had taken Luke, it looked nothing like him. He smiled, because at that point, Luke must not have turned him into the police, because if he did, they surely have a better sketch. He turned it off.

He started packing his things up, he didn’t have much, just what he had with him when he left Luke alone, so he could do his job. He was moving to the next place. He smiled as his thoughts, once again, turned to Luke. What was he doing now? Is he happy? The latest news still playing in background, mostly being ignored, when the words ‘Luke Hemmings’ caught his attention. 

He turned around and turned the volume up. The newsreader was talking about how Luke was returning to school, two months after being rescued a kidnapper. A picture of Luke came up on the screen and Ashton gasped. He was as beautiful as ever. ‘Luke’ he whispered to himself, the picture disappeared. Another picture appeared, the sketch of him, the same sketch they’ve been using for months, the same sketch that no matter how hard it studies it, looks nothing like him. Luke still hadn’t turned him in. ‘Thank you, baby’ he whispered to himself again.

The segment finished and Ashton continued staring at the screen, he breathed in deeply, collected his thoughts and returned to packing his things. It moved a little bit faster this time, because maybe if he’s smart about it, he can see Luke, in person, for the first time since that dreadful day.

Ashton was sitting in his car, low in his seat. His car parked in the same spot where it was all those months ago, when he’d offered to give Luke a ride home. Luke’s house was on the other side of the park; he would usually cut through the park to get there. Ashton was using this as his chance to see Luke. He’d been waiting here for hours watching everyone that moved through the area. 

Then he saw him.

Luke.

Ashton sat up, hands tightening on the steering wheel. His Luke, his baby. Luke was beautiful. He watched as Luke walked along the path, kicking a stone with his foot along the path, as Calum and Michael talked non stop. Luke didn’t appear to be saying much or even paying attention, just kicking the stone.

Calum and Michael jogged a little in front of Luke and started play hitting each like a couple of five year olds. Ashton used this moment to try and get Luke to look in his direction, without drawing anybody else’s attention. He only wanted Luke’s attention.

He got out of the car and stood next to it, closing his eyes, he slammed the door, hard. The sound echoed in his head, he opened his eyes and Luke was looking directly at him. No one else was. Luke stopped mid step, eyes going wide and hand subconsciously reaching out towards Ashton. He could see him mouth, ‘Ash’. 

Ashton smiled, grinned ear to ear, offered a little wave and as fast as he could, got back into his car and drove away. He was certain no one else saw him, no one but Luke. The only one that mattered. He just hoped that Luke understood why he was there, why he had to go so quickly. 

Ashton parked his car, a little way down the street. In his rear-view mirror, he could see Luke come out of the park and onto the street. He could see Luke look around, like he was looking for someone. He could tell when Luke spotted his car, because he turned a little towards and waved back to Ashton and kept walking. Ashton sighed in relief, Luke had understood. 

Ashton had seen Luke, which is what he had wanted most in the world, to see Luke, make eye contact with him. He wanted Luke to know that he was still around, that he wasn’t far away and that he still wanted to be with him.   
‘Thank God’ he whispered to himself. Luke seemed happy to see him and that made him a little bit happier.

Ashton waited until Luke was completely out of sight before he pulled out his parking spot and drove in the opposite direction. He was close and now Luke knew he hadn’t abandoned him and now Ashton had to come up with another plan. Another plan to see Luke again, to talk to him. To get him back. It would take some thinking, because he knew that Luke’s family and friends were barely going to let Luke out of their sight. Ashton knew Luke was being watched by them 24/7. He had to have Luke back, and with their latest interaction still fresh in his mind, he had hope that Luke wanted the same thing.

Ashton continued driving; trying to find the next place he could stay and come up with this new plan. A plan that would get Luke back to him and keep him forever. He smiled to himself at the thought of Luke being his forever. 

Now, he had to make it happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought it was about time, you saw things from Ashton's point of view.
> 
> Hope you liked it.


	32. Luke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've said this before but I'm really not sure about this but it's been way too long. I'm happy with it but not 100%. Please comment any thoughts you have (good or bad) and thank you for reading.

Luke stared at the clock on the wall above the chalkboard, watching the seconds tick by. This was taking forever. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed, looking back up at the clock. Just a few minutes left before he was out of here.

He felt his mind drifting, wondering if this was all worth it. Sitting here, bored out of his mind, Luke didn’t want to be at school, he wanted to be with Ashton. He shook his head, of fucking course, Ashton was worth it. He thought about the last time he saw Ashton. It was over a week ago and for merely a few seconds but even that was worth this. He’d walk through fire just to get a glimpse of Ashton.

The bell signalled the end of class and the end of his day, Luke practically bolted for the door. A loud but calm voice stopped him,

“Oh Luke, please can I have a minute?”   
Luke stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned facing his teacher, Ms. Aubrey, head down and nodding  
“Will it take long?” he asked, quietly  
“No, please take a seat” she instructed him

Luke shuffled back and into the seat that Ms. Aubrey had indicated to.

Ms. Aubrey was nice. Luke had never had any problems with her. Before Ashton, Luke loved being in her class. He would even go so far as to say that she was his favourite teacher. Before Ashton, Luke never had a problem with school but that was before Ashton. Before Ashton, everything was different. After Ashton, Ms Aubrey was still the same. She was the only teacher that didn’t constantly ask him if he was okay, like everyone else is his life did. But a sinking feeling in his stomach told him that was about to change.

“Luke, I want to talk to you about how you’re going” she started “Now that you’re back”  
“Okay” Luke said “I think I’m doing okay”  
“Luke, you’ve spent the last 30 minutes staring at the clock” she stated “Just because you aren’t called on, doesn’t mean I don’t notice”

Luke sank in his chair

“I’m sorry” he muttered

“Don’t be sorry” she said “I need to know that you’re okay, that you want to be here because if you’re not ready than I’m sorry but I’ll have no choice but to recommend that you not be here”

There it was. The other shoe had finally dropped. Luke had been waiting for it. He’d tell people he was okay and that he was happy to be back but could tell nobody believed him. Because, well, he was lying. He wasn’t okay and he wasn’t happy. He would be okay with Ashton, he’d be happy with Ashton.

“Luke, that man kidnapped you” Ms Aubrey said, softly.

He hadn’t realised he’d said the last parts out loud. He stared at her.

“Please don’t tell anyone I said that” Luke pleaded “But I need him”

“Luke...” she started but Luke interrupted her.

“Don’t, please” he pleaded again “Nobody understands. You all think he’s bad and mean and a horrible person but he’s not. He made a mistake. You all think that because I was kidnapped I can’t have real feelings for him, that everything I feel is wrong. Do you have any idea what it’s like to have people tell you you’re wrong all the time?”

Ms. Aubrey sat stunned for a minute while she collected her thoughts. Luke sat staring at his hands. She was the first person she had told about how he was feeling. He’d told the therapist what Ashton had done in the beginning and how he felt. She’d told him that he couldn’t feel the way he did because Ashton had beaten him into submission. That it was an abusive relationship.

“Luke…”

“No, I can’t do this” Luke continued, finding his voice cracking “I can’t live my life the way I did before I met him. It’s not the same without him. I know what he did was wrong and against the law and everything, I know all that. But I’ve forgiven him for that, why can’t anyone else see that or believe me when I say that? Why won’t they let me be with him”

“Luke, can I talk now?”

Luke nodded.

“Okay” Ms Aubrey paused “I believe you”

Luke shot his head up, staring at her with his mouth open.

“I believe you, Luke” continued Ms Aubrey “Ashton has clearly made his mark on you and now you need to decide something”

“What?”

“If you really believe that being at school is the best way to spend your time, then I question your commitment to Ashton” she said “I shouldn’t be saying this but I see the struggle you go through everyday, if you want to be with him, then you should be with him. You should be happy”

Luke looked at her, shocked. Did she really just say that? 

“Ms Aubrey, I don’t know how to do that?”

“I can guess that you’ve seen him since you’ve been back” she said

“Yes, from a distance” Luke said, sadly “Wasn’t close enough or for very long”

“Maybe that’s where he is waiting for you to come to him” she continued “Maybe this time, he’s making it your choice whether or not you go with him”

“So, you’re saying I should stop waiting around for him to come get me?” Luke asked “That I should just go?”

“All I’m saying, Luke, is that you’re too young to be miserable and you should do what makes you happy regardless of what other people think or say” Ms Aubrey said

“Thank you” Luke whispered “May I go now?”

“Of course” she said, waving her hand to the door 

Luke stood up and made his way to the door, his hand on the handle, he heard Ms Aubrey speak up.

“Oh and Luke, we never talked and nobody mentioned Ashton” she said, not looking up from her desk

“I’m sorry, Ms Aubrey, did you say something?” he asked, playing along

“No, not at all must ”she smiled“ be hearing things, Luke”

“Goodbye, Ms Aubrey”  
“Goodbye, Luke”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it. I'll try to update more frequently Thanks :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it. Let me know what you think, good or bad.


End file.
